Jedi Adept 2: A Father's Blade
by Kidan
Summary: The Jedi Order has been told that something is amiss with BioTech Industries on Ambria. Running low on Knights the Council decides to send Tahiri Veila and her apprentice, Noelani Darklighter, to investigate.
1. Chapter 1

**Jedi Adept: A Father's Blade**

Sequel to Jedi Adept: Greater Than the Sums of Their Parts

* * *

**_Dramatis Personae_**

Chase Polliska – street urchin (male human)   
Cere Hollista – Head scientist, BioTech Industries (female human)   
Jowdrrl – Mayor of Rwookrrorro (Wookie female)   
Kyp Durron – Jedi Master (male human)   
Lumpawaroo "Waroo" – Corellian Sympathizer (Wookie male)   
Noelani Darklighter – Jedi Apprentice (female human)   
Parful – Alliance Sympathizer (Wookiee male)   
Ralrracheen "Ralrra" – Alliance Sympathizer (Wookie male)   
Rand Shepherd – Corellian Agent (male human)   
Tahiri Veila – Jedi Knight (female human)   
Thesim Gra – BioTech Scienties (male human)

* * *

_I can't wait any longer to train you. You must learn how to build your lightsabers-and how to use them-in the right way. The galaxy has changed, and you must meet the challenge. A true Jedi is forced to adapt or be destroyed._  
- Luke Skywalker to Jacen, Jaina, Tenel Ka & Lowbacca (_Lightsabers_) 

**Prologue**

Huff Darklighter stares out the windscreen at the unending expanses of the Dune Sea. Rolling waves of sand flash by beneath the repulsors of his landspeeder, a plume of sand billows up and out in his wake. He glances at his passenger, a bundle of gangly knees and bright blond hair being whipped around by the wind. A flash of blue eyes, and a bright smile – lets him know that she's aware of his attention, and then she turns back to the piece of chocolate in her lap.

Noelani Darklighter at four years old is bright and precocious. She has a knack for getting into more mischief than her adoptive father Huff could ever imagine. Not even his eldest boy, Biggs, would create as much mischief as that young girl.

Yet, despite the fact that she is apt to reprogram the food preparation station or re-wire the nanny droid's vocoder so that it only speaks in Rodian, Huff cannot seem to bring himself to punish her.

And as he directs the landspeeder away from Mos Eisley, heading towards the large, sprawling homestead that he shares with his wife and children, he knows that he favors this, his adopted daughter more than the sons and daughters that were born to him.

He doesn't know if it is because she is an orphan, delivered to him by his eldest boy's best friend, Luke Skywalker. Or if it is because she reminds him of just how much fun it is to be young. But as the featureless sands flash by outside the landspeeder, he cannot help but consider that it is because of her ability to generate mischief.

He thinks back to the visit with the local water distributor, Jeh Brightflyer. He had had reports that the man was skimming some of the water for the black market, selling the product without giving Huff his own cut of the profits. So, like any good businessman, he went to visit, and like a good father decided to bring his youngest child with him. While he and Brightflyer were discussing the missing portions of the shipments, Noelani had managed to get access to the personal logs which Brightflyer kept on his console and then the little scamp had sent them as a message to everyone in his list of contacts.

He chuckles at the memory of getting the incriminating message on his comlink while the man sat before him announcing his innocence.

Huff grins at the small blonde girl. She seems to notice his attention, and looks up at him and smiles brightly. He faces forward once more, and comes into sight of his homestead.

A thin black wisp of smoke is coming from the location, and Huff frowns, stamping down hard on the accelerator. The landspeeder jumps forward, the landscape outside flashing by increasingly faster.

He yanks hard on the steering column, twisting the speeder sideways, sending up another plume of gritty sand from the compression forces of the repulsers. He shuts the engines down, and then is up and out of the speeder, hoping out through the open air cabin despite the arthritis in his knees and the fact that his lower back has been giving him problems the past two years.

He pulls out his blaster pistol from the back seat and looks down at Noelani. "Stay here. I'll be right back."

He takes a cautious step into the entry to the homestead, carefully walking down the steps. He comes into the main room and there finds his greatest fear.

His family. His wife. His children.

All slaughtered.

And for the second time in his life, Huff's very existence shatters.

The blaster drops to the floor with a clatter, and Huff rushes to Lanal's side. He cries out in pain as he kneels beside her unmoving form.

"Mama?"

Huff looks up to see Noelani standing in the doorway, looking lost and broken as she looks out at the remains of their family.

"Noelani…I told you to wait for me."

The girl rubs at her eyes, and then rushes from the room towards the kitchen.

"Noelani! Wait!"

Huff jumps up, and runs over to his discarded blaster, scooping it up as he chases after Noelani. He finds her standing in the doorway to the kitchen. A hand covering her mouth as she looks at the Tusken Raider spread in a bundle of rags on the floor. A jug of sweetwater is knocked over, the precious fluid spreading out around the drunken sandperson.

In his surprise at the sight, Huff once more drops his blaster.

The Tusken shifts and Huff realizes that they need to leave. He puts his hand onto Noelani shoulder but she shrugs him away. Looking down, he sees that she's picked up his dropped blaster and has taken a step towards the sandperson.

"Noelani, come back here, now!" He hisses, fear clutching at his heart.

She casts a glance over her shoulder at him and pins him with her gaze. Tears stream down her face, emotions battle for supremacy in her eyes. For a second, Huff is afraid of the girl. Of the powerful gaze that she turns upon him. It contains a depth, an intensity which he has never seen before – it is almost like staring into the noon-time suns.

She turns away from him and lifts the blaster.

The sound of the discharge echoes loudly in the kitchen. The stench of scorched flesh a sweet, sickly smell that clogs his nostrils.

The blaster drops to the tile floor with a clatter, and Noelani looks back at Huff. The power behind her eyes gone, hidden once more. All that remains is a scared four year old little girl.

She rushes towards him, and he scoops her up, holding her tightly as he backs out of the kitchen. The girl nestles her head into the crook between his neck and shoulder, and he can feel the tears as they flow from her eyes, the shake of her body as she sobs.

Between the tears and the sobs, Huff makes out a broken string of words, "I sorry, Papa. I… I sorry."


	2. Chapter 2

Ossus is a blasted, broken world. Four thousand years ago, the suns of the Cron Drift exploded, showering the entire region of space with enough hard radiation to flash fry entire systems into barren wastelands. Ossus, once a site of the galaxy's greatest Jedi citadel, was on the periphery of the blast radius, and though the planet was not destroyed – a majority of the vegetation and animal life was vaporized, and most of its shallow seas were evaporated, with that water vapor being ripped away from the atmosphere.

But as is the course of such things, life persevered. An array of new species, hardy desert animals and plants grew out of the existing life, and the Ysanna, secreted away in the old Jedi catacombs finally re-emerged to take up a life of wandering the lands of their Jedi ancestors.

In the years following the war with the Yuuzhan Vong, the Jedi returned to Ossus. Once more building an academy on its soil, one of many scattered around the galaxy. The leader of the Jedi, Luke Skywalker, learned the lesson of the Old Order – and the fall of Yavin's Praxeum well. He has spread the Order around, ensuring that if one Temple falls, there will always be another out there to continue the Jedi way.

But at the same time, he has made it clear that for the Jedi Order, Ossus is home.

For Tahiri Veila though, this is not home. Home is the sand-blasted rocks of the Juudland Wastes. Home is the vibrant colors of the Yavin rain forest. Home is the ice-blue eyes of Anakin Solo. All of which have been lost to her because of choices and the Yuuzhan Vong.

For Tahiri Veila, the galaxy no longer has a home for her.

The first stirrings of the day ring over the bright rays of light from the rising sun. They are the raucous caws of the flock of avians that spend the days building nests in and around the Jedi Temple on Ossus. Tahiri stands up from the meditation position she has spent the night in, the joints of her knees cracking with the sudden movement.

If she feels any discomfort from her long hours of immobility, neither her face, nor her Force presence gives it away. With a simple movement, she slips out of her cloak, allowing it to flutter to her feet, the heavy wool falling to the ground with a soft sigh of impact.

She turns her face upwards to the sun, reveling in the blue-white glow of the early morning light, feeling the warmth as it caresses her face like a long lost lover.

Her feet shift in the loose marble stones, their movements a whispered crunch. Then she takes a step forward. Then another.

When she reaches the edge of the small meditation garden, she looks down. Thirty meters below is the ground, and yet another meditation garden. Grinning, she allows herself to fall, for a second she enjoys herself-the whistle in her ears, the tug against her hair and tunic, and that little kernel of fear that maybe this time, she'll miss her timing.

As she closes with the ground, she pulls the Force to her, slowing herself down. She lands with a crunch, dropping to her knees and turning the fall into a forward roll. With a simple, graceful movement, she comes out of the roll and stands, her feet already scrunching against the white gravel as she begins her morning run.

She heads through the small town which has sprung up around the Temple, heading towards the rain forests which brush up against the spaceport. She sees other early risers out doing morning chores, with a few performing the same exercise as she herself is.

She arrives at the edge of the forest and without hesitation pushes in, slipping through the brambles and undergrowth which line the edge without concern or regard. She feels the slapping of the sticks and twigs against her face, the tugs of the vines and the thorns in her hair and on her clothes and the stones and debris on the forest floor pressing against the leathery soles of her feet - but those little discomforts are of no consequence to her.

She runs for an hour before the first stitch crops up in her side. Gasping for breath, she slows her pace, pausing at a tree where she can lean her arm to rest her head against. The pain is almost enough.

Almost.

As soon as she stops, images once more assault her. Finding Noelani trussed up in an Embrace of Pain, with the wounds from her captivity obvious – red, swollen and oozing thick blood – on her back. Then her failure to rescue Noelani - being outclassed by that female Yuuzhan Vong warrior.

Tahiri spins, and drops to the ground, leaning her back against the tree, savoring the feeling of the rough bark through her linen tunic. She glances back down the path she had come from, noticing the splotches of red at regular intervals. Frowning, she pulls her right foot towards her, noticing the large sliver of granite embedded in her foot.

She winces as she pulls the stone from her foot. She stands; her breathing evening out and as begins the long walk back to the Temple. Her mind running over a dozen different things. Trying to figure out just what is going on. Why she has been feeling a little niggle in the back of her head, the one that says she's missing something important.

Then her mind drifts back to the Yuuzhan Vong. She wonders why they attacked her and Noelani. The Alliance was at peace with the Yuuzhan Vong, and the last time she had spoken with Nas Choka, he seemed to indicate that all their military forces were accounted for. Yet what was that commander doing out there on the Outer Rim, with a full complement of warriors.

Tahiri sighs, and pushes that concern from her mind, focusing instead on the Sith. Lumiya. She suspects that Lumiya is the one who trained the Yuuzhan Vong in the ways of the Force, but Tahiri can not figure out for what purpose.

_It just doesn't make sense._

"Not everything makes sense."

Startled out of her reverie, Tahiri snarls a curse in Yuuzhan Vong, pulling her saber and spinning round on her feet to face the voice. The snap-hiss of her saber igniting rings out in the near quiet of the early morning forest, startling a few nocturnal birds who had just returned to their nests. The angry buzz of her blade sounds close to her ear, and her eyes finally focus on who was standing in front of her.

And her mouth drops open, even as her blade falls from her hands.

He is a young human male, about sixteen years old. Tussled brown hair, soul-shattering blue eyes, and a dimple in his chin. He is dressed in the orange jumpsuits worn by so many at the Yavin Academy, over that is a brown Corellian-style flight jacket. His lips are twisted into a lop-sided smile which brings a sharp aching pain to the center of her heart. At his edges, he has a slight blue shine, a glow evident even in the streams of bright morning sunlight.

She whispers his name, "Anakin."

His smile grows wider as he says, "Bantha got your tongue?"

For a second, her smile falters before brightening again. "Isn't that my line?" _Why does he have to look exactly the same as when he died?_

"My name is Anakin Solo, and I'm dead." He speaks in a singsong tilt, almost like the gurgles of one of the many fountains which surround the Jedi Temple.

And Tahiri's smile dies - pain and anger war inside of her. Yet, in the back of her head, she has the feeling that she has had this conversation with him before. "Why are you here? Did you just come to make me feel bad?"

"I don't wear any-never, not ever," Anakin began. "I'm from Tatooine. I'm one of the Sand People."

Tahiri bites her lip absently. She recognizes this now. It is the conversation that the two of them held when they first met, so many years ago. A lifetime ago.

She racks her brain, trying to remember what comes next, when Anakin begins a long-winded spiel about her upbringing, and how she was raised on Tatooine by the Sand People. How she had been promised she wouldn't be forced to wear shoes. He ends by asking, "So, aren't you going to say something?"

She remembers the next line to this question though. "It's pretty hard to get a word in with you talking all the time."

She notices that his grin flickers into a full-fledged smile for a brief second, and then he speaks again, "sorry about that. It's just that on Tatooine there wasn't anyone near my own age to talk to. I guess I'm pretty lonely for a friend."

"I guess I could use a friend too," Tahiri replied, somewhat surprised to find that she really meant it. For a second, she wonders if Anakin's visitation has to do with how she has been so withdrawn from the other Jedi for the past fifteen years or so. With the possible exception of Noelani, she barely speaks to any of the other Jedi when not on specific missions.

"Then it's settled-we're best friends now," Anakin said with his grin once more sliding for a second into a full smile. "So are you going to tell me how you died?"

Tahiri frowns, knowing that that is not what she said.

She opens her mouth to respond, but nothing comes out. Then she feels a suffocating weight against her throat and chest. A biting coldness seeping into the edges of her consciousness, even as the edges of her vision begins to fray and go dark.

She tries to scream, but can only feel clods of dirt choking her, the squirm of something slimy and alive brushing the roof of her mouth.

"Master!"

She bolts upright, her sheet grasped in her hands, bunched up tight, her heart hammering loudly in her ears. Noelani is leaning over her, her large blue eyes luminous in the dim light of Tahiri's bedroom. The bed shifts from where Noelani kneels upon it next to Tahiri's legs. Tahiri looks around the room, her eyes flickering over everything, to make sure all is where it is supposed to be, to make sure that everything is how it is supposed to be. Finally her gaze returns to Noelani. "What?"

"You were having a nightmare. Your distress woke me."

"I'm sorry, Noelani. Go on back to bed. It was just a bad dream."

The girl looks at her, as if she does not quite believe Tahiri, but finally nods her head and says, "All right. But if you need me, just call."

Tahiri watches the girl scamper out of the room, and the lays back down, tugging the thin blanket up over her shoulder as she stares at the far wall.

Even as she tries to go back to sleep, Tahiri knows that she won't sleep again tonight.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Two**

Jagged Fel sits slumped slightly in the dingy cantina on Ambria. The Huck's Hideout had definitely seen better days. By Jag's estimation, it was probably an upscale cantina a decade prior to the Clone Wars and since the end of that conflict it has slowly devolved into just another dingy dump on a dustbowl of a planet.

As far as Jag can tell, the Huck's Hideout has only two things which keep it in operation. First they don't water down the drinks, and secondly the air conditioner appears to be in perfect working condition. And on a desert planet, such as Ambria, those are inordinately important conditions.

He allows his eyes to flicker across the six other occupants of the bar once again. The elderly couple enjoying a late lunch in a corner booth. A Wookie, human and an Arconian playing a hand of sabacc in the center of the floor, and a Bothan at the bar, nursing a drink as slowly as Jag himself nurses his.

Jag takes a swallow of the gizer ale, allowing the liquid to settle on his tongue for a moment before swallowing. As he does this, he considers the sequence of events which have led him here. His exile from the Ascendancy, the time he spent trapped, marooned, on Tenupe. The years since his rescue, running around the Known Regions as a bounty hunter. He pushes those dark memories away, not wanting to dwell on what occurred on that forest world. Not wanting to think about the Jedi.

And most definitely he did not want to think about a certain short, brown-haired, brown-eyed female Jedi.

He takes another swallow of the ale; letting thoughts of the Jedi flow away as the liquid flows down his throat.

He runs his hand through his hair; still slightly unnerved by the extra length he's allowed it to grow out since he joined the Fringe. Just another of the changes which he's accepted. At that thought, he mentally checks his posture to ensure he still has the slight slouch of an out-of-luck spacer, rather than the ramrod straight military bearing which he would prefer to be displaying.

The door opens with a soft shushing sound, and a warm dry breeze flows over and around him, blowing his hair, causing it to tickle his ears.

He surreptitiously looks to the doorway, waiting for whoever opened the door to walk around the corner into the hallway which leads into the cantina. As he watches, he realizes that that doorway is another good thing going for this bar. The draft of wind when the door is opened alerts the patrons, while the brightly light hallway, with its right-angle corner between the exterior door and the darkened cantina proper provides a spotlight for everyone that comes into the bar.

A few moments after the wind settles down, the man who opened the door comes into view, he stands in the bright light of the entryway for just a moment, but that moment is long enough for Jag to clearly see that the man is wearing a light blue jumpsuit, with the BioTech Industries' dark blue and red logo stitched on the right breast.

Jag turns on the datapad which he has laying on the table, and glances down at the flat image which pops up on it. He compares the image with the man who was already sliding up to the bar ordering something. He grins slightly, as he makes a match, and stands up. His hand slips down to the blaster on his hip. Silently, he unsnaps the latch and pulls out his BlastTech DN-24.

As the bartender places a drink in front of the man, Jag leans up against the bar next to him, pressing his blaster into the man's side.

"No sudden moves."

Jag watches as the man tenses his body. The man's voice is measured and calm. As if someone poking a blaster in his side was an everyday occurrence. "What do you want?"

"You're going to finish your drink, and then we're going to take a nice little walk. If you listen, then I won't have to hurt you."

The man slowly lifts his glass to his lips, taking a long draught of the ale. "You still haven't told me what you want."

"Me? Nothing. I'm just a simple man doing a simple job. My employer on the other hand, wants to have a talk with you."

The man places his glass down on the bar. "Fine. Let's go now."

Jag leads the man forward, and out of the bar. A small warning goes off in the back of his head. There's something about this whole situation that he doesn't like. He hasn't had a bounty this easy in years. Before he steps under the harsh lights of the entryway, he glances back over those still in the bar, noting that they all seem to still be engrossed in what they were doing.

He looks up, as the man arrives at the bend, and takes a step forward. He hesitates, listening to the same instincts which served him well as a starfighter pilot. Then he takes a step backwards as the doorway explodes, tossing him back into the cantina. He lands on his rump, sliding up against an empty table. He gives his head a quick shake to clear the ringing from his ears, and looks towards the doorway to find a Yuuzhan Vong warrior standing there, a snarl twisting his mutilated and tattooed features.

Jag growls a curse as he raises his blaster.

The war against the Yuuzhan Vong taught the scientists and engineers of the Known Regions a lot. They developed a host of new technologies to defeat and befuddle the aggressive species. Yet the largest of the developments against Yuuzhan Vong biots has occurred in the decade or so since the end of the war. Including development of the Blastech DN series – a series of blasters designed with Vondum Crab armor in mind.

The warrior unfurls his amphistaff and Jag pulls the trigger. The chuff sound of the blaster echoes loudly in the enclosed room and the blast of energy creates a large hole in the chest of the warrior.

Rolling to his feet, he tosses three small balls towards the entryway. On their third bounce, they begin to his as they emit jets of a dark grey smoke. As the gas spills out of the entrance and into the cantina itself, Jag looks around, trying to find another way out. Then he spies the entrance to the kitchen. He jumps over the bar, and brushes past the bartender and into the kitchen.

Standing in the doorway, he glances back towards the entrance and notices a large, ginger-haired Wookiee stumbling through the fog, shaking his head to clear it from the effects of the gas. Jag frowns for a second, and then pushes on through the kitchen, bursting out the back door. He glances around, getting his bearings, and then heads to the spaceport as fast as he can.

Half an hour later, he is settling into the cockpit of his ship, his brows creased in concentration as he tries to figure out just what that warrior was doing protecting the scientist he was sent to snatch. He sighs deeply, as he realizes that the issues at hand here are beyond him.

He pulls up his contact list, and finds a name of a guy that he hasn't spoken to in over a decade. Not since the war ended. He presses the icon to activate the call, and a few minutes later Kyp Durron's face appears on the holocom suite.

Jag almost laughs at the confusion on the Jedi Master's face as the older man says, "Fel? Is that you?"

"Yes, I have a tip for you Jedi."

"What is it?"

"BioTech Industries on Ambria. Something fishy is going on there."

"Anything more concrete than that?"

Jag shakes his head. "Just that the Vong and the Wookies are involved somehow. It's above my resources to find out more info, plus I have other things I need to do. But you know me, Kyp. I wouldn't send this to you if I wasn't certain it wasn't important."

Kyp nods his head, a smirk tugging at his lips. "I'll see what we lowly Jedi can do. Anything else?"

"Yeah, don't tell Jaina you talked to me."

"Copy that, Jag. It wa-"

Jag terminates the communication. He doesn't really want to talk to the Jedi. He doesn't want to remember. He sighs, and preps his ship for take-off.

--------------------------------------- 

Tahiri stands at the edge of the sparring mat; in her hands is the control box for the four remotes circling around her apprentice as she watches the exercise. Noelani Darklighter is dressed in a form-fitting training suit, her bright blonde hair pulled back into a tight pony tail, its curls swishing with her every movement. A navy blue cloth is tied tightly around the girl's eyes, ensuring that she can't see anything.

In Noelani's hands is Tahiri's lightsaber. Its constant hum a curious offset to the puffs and buzz of the remotes.

There is a shift in the tone of the saber as Noelani moves the blade around to deflect the dart from one of the remotes. As she blocks, two of the other remotes dive in to attack Noelani's undefended side. She dances forward, but the wounds she suffered at the hands of the Yuuzhan Vong slow her down just enough for the remotes to catch her.

Her yelp of pain is clear, and echoes slightly in the training room. As Tahiri watches, Noelani tries to put pressure on the leg which had just been shot by the dart, and it crumples due to numbness, spilling Noelani to the floor. The young girl is just able to get the saber up and around in time to keep from slicing herself in half and to block another bolt that was heading for her stomach.

She turns off the saber, and rolls forward, trying to give herself a chance to catch her breath, and get feeling in her leg again. She stops after a couple rolls, and bounces to her feet. She ignites the saber again and bats away another bolt coming in for her thigh.

Then another yelp of pain sounds out in the room, and Tahiri smirks slightly as she notices that Noelani had been shot in the rump by a remote that had gotten behind her. The girl stumbles forward, trying her best to remain standing upright, weariness from her still healing wounds and the darts beginning to take their toll.

Then Tahiri's comlink chimes and she pulls it out, noting the simple text message displayed on its face. She turns her attention back to the training session, and deactivates the remotes. With a few last hisses, they slowly return to their spots alongside the wall. Noelani watches as they float away, and then turns back towards Tahiri.

"Why is the session over, Master? Did I do something wrong?"

Tahiri smiles at the girl, wondering when she'll realize just how much talent she has, and at the same time dreading the day that happens. "Nothing is wrong; we've just been summoned to the Council Chambers."

Noelani holds out Tahiri's saber towards her. "Oh. Okay."

Tahiri smiles as she takes the weapon and attaches it to her belt. She flips her head towards the doorway and says, "Come on, we can't keep the Council waiting forever, now can we?"


	4. Chapter 4

Tahiri and Noelani step into the large, circular room of the Council Chambers. Stretched along half the wall are a dozen chairs, spaced fairly evenly apart. The high-arched marble ceiling dome is adorned with scenes of Jedi helping people. The marble floor has a mosaic of the Jedi crest done in pale blue and yellow.

It is a room which evokes both awe and humility in most of those who enter. It is, by its very nature, designed to evoke those feelings.

It just irks Tahiri.

She doesn't know why. There's no one particular thing about the room that she dislikes. It's everything and nothing, and it aggravates her more that she has such troubles placing her finger on the source of her discomfort regarding the room.

Shrugging it away, she glances at those gathered before them. Of the twelve members of the Council, only two masters are there in the flesh, Kyp Durron and Kam Salusar are settled in their cream-colored chairs and then a hologram of Corran Horn shimmers in his customary seat. All three of them smile at her and her apprentice as they step forward, stopping in the middle of the seats, standing squarely atop the starburst pattern of the Jedi sigil.

Tahiri bows to the Council, Noelani beginning her own a second after Tahiri. As she straightens, she notices the slight look which Kyp casts between the two other members of the Council. She just stands there, allowing her own gaze to flicker between the three older Jedi, perfectly content to wait for the Master's to speak first.

A slight cough from Noelani shows how far her apprentice has to go before she's reached that level of patience.

But the soft sound of distraction is enough to spur the Master's into motion. Kyp leans forward in his seat slightly, and Tahiri notices that his hair has grown out long in the back, the ends still jet black, an odd contrast to the grey that has begun to appear at his temples.

After a moment more, Kyp begins talking, "We have a mission for you. We have received reports that there's something odd going on with BioTech Industries, and that it may involve the Vo-Yuuzhan Vong."

Tahiri can feel one of her eyebrows lift slightly as she digests the mission information. "So because it involved the Yuuzhan Vong, you immediately thought to send me?"

Kyp laughs, his deep baritone echoes in the chambers. "Actually no. Since it may also involve the Wookies, we originally were going to send Jaina and Lowbacca. Unfortunately, they've been loaned out to the military, so we called you in."

"I don't quite understand Shryiwook though."

Kam smiles for her. "That's all right. The Jedi know a Wookiee who has a slight speech impediment which makes him easier to understand. If you have to deal with the Wookies, he will be your contact."

Tahiri glances over her shoulder at her apprentice for a second and then nodding her head once more faces the Council. "I was going to begin instructing Noelani in lightsaber creation, but I see no reason why we can't take this mission first."

Even as she says this, she can feel the burst of frustration from the girl, and feel as it is quickly suppressed. Tahiri stops a smile from coming to her features, proud of the girl for keeping such control of her emotions.

Kam nods his head. "So you accept the mission?"

"Yes, we do."

Kam's smile is bright and cheerful. "Good. Your ship is being prepped as we speak, and the datapack will be sent to your terminal. The planet you will be investigating will be Ambria. Please keep in contact with the Council."

Tahiri smiles at the slight admonishment, on her last mission, her apprentice was captured and she herself was wounded. Rather than telling the Council, she went off to rescue the girl herself - a decision which almost ended in disaster for the both of them. She bows her head slightly and says, "I will, Master."

"Very good."

Tahiri and Noelani bow again, and turn from the room, as soon as they step outside of the Council Chambers, Noelani lets out a long, slow hiss of breath. Her frustration and annoyance are unleashed and pool into the Force, bubbling around the two girls.

Tahiri looks at the girl, with a grin on her face. "Control yourself, Padawan. You're leaking."

Noelani blushes red, lowering her head slightly. In the Force, her frustration and annoyance flicker to chagrin. "Sorry, Master. It's just…I was looking forward to building my lightsaber."

"I know, and you will. But first we do this mission. But I will tell you what, we can take some time to scavenge for the parts you need while we're on the mission. That will give you a chance to look at a few other worlds for ideas about what type of hilt you want."

The girl's annoyance and chagrin blows away in the excitement of the new idea. A bounce returns to her steps and she turns her bright smile onto Tahiri once more. "Oh! Thank you, Master. That sounds like a great idea. I really hope they have some interesting things that I can look over. Did you know that Master Horn's lightsaber use to be a throttle for a speeder bike? But I would really like to see Queen Mother Tenel Ka's. It's supposed to be a tooth!"

Tahiri just allows a grin to flicker to her face, allowing the girl's stream of words to cross over her awareness as she nods, and makes small replies of acknowledgement in all the right places. For a second, she allows her mind to drift back to Anakin, and she wonders if this is how he felt all those years ago on Yavin.

Then she pulls herself away from that line of thought, not wanting to think about Anakin or the dream she had a few nights ago which featured him.

Then they arrive at their quarters, and each goes to their separate rooms to pack. As Noelani is about to enter her room, Tahiri calls out over her shoulder to the girl, "Remember, just Jedi outfits!"

She suppresses a laugh, as she hears the girl's grumbles about the restriction.

--------------------------------------

Cere Hollista, at thirty-nine standard years, is one of the youngest people to be made a division head in BioTech Industries history. Yet, after working for the company for the past two decades, she now leads the company's efforts here on Ambria. Directing their research, and ensuring that they stay profitable.

She stands in front of her mirror for a second. Ensuring that her black hair is still pulled tightly into its severe bun, and that there is not a hair out of place. Then she allows her eyes to flicker over her face, checking her makeup. She has a stern face, all angular lines and sharp planes, and she strives to maintain that. On her homeworld of Agumar, she would have been described as an "Old Maid," a woman who eschews aesthetic appearances to ward off the advances of those wishing to court. And if she was truthful to herself, that is why she does it, she has a firm belief that her position, her authority, and the obedience of her subordinates, dictate that she be as stern and harsh as possible, in both her physical appearance and how she deals with her underlings.

She pats down the sides of her black unisuit, checking the pockets to ensure she has her datapad and other paraphernalia which she carries with her. Beneath the blue and gold BioTech insignia, she clips her employee badge to the jumpsuit. The arcane symbols on the badge glow with a light of their own; a small droid brain resides on the device, an extra level of security for those working on the top-secret projects for BioTech Ambria.

She steps out of her office, and quickly walks down the hallway to the meeting room. She opens the door, a frown flickering over her face as she sees the Wookiee in charge of the Special Projects security leaning against the far wall, and a man that she does not know sitting next to Kar Illam, President of BioTech Industries.

"Good morning, Mr. Illam."

Kar stands up, and smiles at her; absently she notices that it doesn't reach his eyes. "Cere, a pleasure to see you again, please join us here."

She nods her head, and settles into the seat opposite Kar and the other man. She gives the Wookiee a quick smile as he barks a greeting, and then turns her attention back to Kar as he returns to his own chair. "So, what can I do for you?"

Kar's smile never leaves his face. It almost appears plastic in its insincerity. "I heard that you had trouble recently. That you almost lost a scientist."

Cere frowns, wondering what this might mean for her. "Almost is the operative word. Fortunately our security," and here she nods towards the Wookiee. "Kept it from happening."

Kar glances back at the Wookiee, and then to Cere. "That's not what I heard happened. From my understanding, the Wookiee didn't even get to see the bounty hunter, and you lost one of our…specialty guards."

She winces as the Wookiee growls a reply. Kar glances back at him. "I know it's not your fault. The bounty hunter was a good one. I'm blaming Cere because she allowed knowledge of what's going on here to escape."

Cere leans forward, a scowl coming to her face. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Kar smiles that fake smile again, and gestures to the man sitting beside him. "This is Rand Shepherd. BioTech Industries is siding with Corellia in the current crisis. We have decided that some of your special projects will be useful to their cause. He has full access. Is that clear?"

Cere grinds her teeth, wanting more than anything to say no. She glances at the Wookiee, noting the amusement shining in his blue eyes, and realizes that he agrees with this decision. That he supports the Corellians as well. Cere is enough of a politician to realize when she is outnumbered and to give in, so that she can fight in another way. She nods her head and replies, "Crystal, sir."

Kar claps his hands. "Wonderful! Now, I'm sure you two have plenty of things to discuss, so I'll leave Mr. Shepherd here in your capable hands."

With that, Kar stands up and leaves the room. Cere looks between the Corellian, Rand, and the Wookiee, her stern face growing slightly sterner.

"Waroo, you will see to," she slightly stresses the next word, underlining the term of respect with a core of sarcasm, "Mr. Shepherd's needs."

The Wookiee barks an affirmative, and Rand stands up, speaking for the first time.

"It was a pleasure, Director Hollista."

Cere nods her head, standing as well. Without saying another word, she turns away and walks out the door, retreating back to her office.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Four **

Noelani steps on board their transport, the _Stolen Star-_a Nubian J-type star skiff which Tahiri purchased on their last mission. Its giant wing shape, allows for more room than is usually expected on a craft of this size, which means it works perfectly as a smuggler's vessel or a ship for Jedi who could potentially be away from the Temple for a while so they need extra supplies.

Plus Noelani just likes the ship, she likes the way it looks, the sounds it makes, even the way it smells.

But above all those things, she likes to tinker with it the most.

Much to the chagrin of her Master.

Noelani bounces back towards her quarters and tosses her travel bag on the bed. It settles on the bed and she spins around, heading towards the bridge, her steps light and cheery. She almost feels like whistling.

She bounds into the bridge, to find her Master, Tahiri, already situated at the pilot's station. Her hands sliding over the control board as she performs her preflight checklist. Noelani plops into her chair, buckling the belt over her waist, and then pulls her knees up, so that her feet are situated at the edge of the seat. Wrapping her arms around her legs, she rests her chin against the top of her knees.

"So," she begins. "When do I get to take that piloting course?"

Tahiri glances at her for a second, and then turns back towards her checklist. "When do I get a ship that I can be assured will launch when I need it to?"

"Hey, that was just one time. And you didn't really need the ship at that second. You could have taken one of the others."

"Olis needed the medicine. The _Stolen Star_ was the fastest ship on Ossus at the time, yet her hyperdrive was in about a hundred pieces."

Noelani sulks, shifting slightly slightly lower in her chair, her lower lip pushing out slightly. She gives Tahiri a sideways glance and says, "Well, she's even faster now."

"That's not the point."

Tahiri finishes her checklist, and throws a few switches and the _Stolen Star_ rumbles into life. Noelani watches as Tahiri's hand moves over to the repulsor control and slowly edges it forward, and then she turns forward, looking out the viewport as the ship lifts from the ground. A few hundred meters away is the Jedi Temple. Its ivory-colored walls gleam in the sunlight, and Noelani's sulking is forgotten. As she watches, Noelani imagines what those behind the darkened windows are doing, some are meditating, others training, and maybe even others are building their very own lightsabers. And she frowns as she remembers that that was what she was going to be doing.

"So," she begins as she turns once more towards her Master. "What about building my lightsaber?"

Tahiri lets out a slight chuckle. "Later, Noelani. For now we're still in the process of launching."

"Yes, Master."

Noelani turns back towards the viewport as the ship breaks into a thunderhead. She grins slightly as the rain pelts the transparisteel, a light drumming sound. In the depths of the clouds she can see the flickering white-blue glow of lightning. Then the clouds part and they continue their climb, the clear blue of the sky giving way to indigo and the first of the stars become visible. Then even the deep purplish-blue of the upper atmosphere fades away, leaving only the deep black of space, the stars losing their glitter to become cold pinpricks of light.

And all of Noelani's concerns and thoughts are burned away in the view of that cold, beautiful vista. Something about space, about those empty stretches of nothingness calls to her, they almost remind her of the vast emptiness of the Dune Sea or the desolate beauty of the Juudland Wastes. To her, it is all those things and so much more. Something that speaks to the very heart of who she is - as intrinsic to her sense of self as the Force is.

And for a moment, she wonders which of those bright sparks of light she was born on. Which one of them is the one where her parents were born at, whether her birth family is out there, or were they just some of the trillions that died in the war against the Yuuzahn Vong. Her father, her adopted father, she corrects in her thoughts, never hid the fact that she wasn't born on Tatooine. That it was a trusted friend of the Darklighter family that brought her to them to raise - telling Huff that her parents were victims of the Yuuzhan Vong war, and that she was a Force sensitive. Yet beyond that, Noelani knows nothing of her family - nothing of her history, nothing of who she is, or was, beyond her Force sensitivity.

And for a moment, she wonders why that bothers her now. She glances at her Master, noting the intense look on Tahiri face as she is bent over the navicomputer, feeding in the coordinates for their journey to Ambria. She turns back towards the viewport, and the expanse of stars, and considers once more what the thought of her family bothers her so much now; where before her lack of history was just something she accepted without qualms or question.

She screws her face up in thought, her nose twisting slightly as she chews on her lower lip. Finally, she turns back towards Tahiri and asks, "Master?"

Tahiri looks up from the navicomputer. "Yes?" Then she turns her attention back to the machine, waiting for it to chime acceptance of the parameters which Tahiri had entered.

"Do you think we could visit Tatooine after this mission?"

Tahiri's head bolts around and Noelani can feel the surprise in the Force. "Can I ask why?"

Noelani blushes slightly, and looks down at the console in front of her, not certain on how to tell Tahiri of her concerns. Finally, she decides to just blurt it out. "I want to ask Papa about my family, ask him again if he knows who my parents were. See if he will tell me who dropped me off with him, how they knew I was a Force sensitive when they did so. I… I just want to know who I am."

Tahiri watches her, ignoring the navicomputer as it chimes. She nods her head. "I can understand that. Growing up, I always wanted to know about my family as well. We'll see what we can do about going on a little trip out there."

Noelani smiles at her Master, feeling her spirits lift. "Thanks!"

Tahiri returns her smile, and turns back to her control station, reaching forward to the hyperspace levers on the console between them. She pulls them toward her, and Noelani looks up from what Tahiri's doing to watch space once again. Her grin grows wider, as the stars elongate, stretching towards them and away from them - towards infinity, and then they rocket forward. With a flash of light the stars vanish, replaced by the swirls of blue which is hyperspace.

"That's so _lubed_."

Tahiri barks a short, sharp laugh. "You know, I'm supposed to correct you when you use that type of language."

"I know. Doesn't mean I'm not going to use it though."

Tahiri's laughter is slightly longer this time, and then she replies, "Just don't let any of the Council hear you."

--------------------------------------- 

Rand Shepherd is seated in a Corellian diner, a plate of spiceloaf before him. He takes a bite, and grimaces, as there's not quite enough heat in it for his tastes. He gives an internal shrug as he decides that it's probably the best that he will be able to get while away from Corellia. He sighs, hoping that the items that he had shipped from here back to Corellia will help with the war effort, and he hopes that the blockade is broken soon, as there is nothing he wants more than to go back home and have a decent meal of spiceloaf.

There is a chime as the door opens, and Rand looks up from his food to see a large, lanky Wookiee amble in. Rand recognizes the ginger-furred Wookiee from the BioTech Industries.

The Wookiee barks at the server droid, which dips its head and rushes towards the back. The gangly being walks forward, and woofs a greeting at Rand. He waves his hand slightly, and hurries up to swallow.

He gestures towards the empty side of the booth. "Please, join me."

The young Wookie, and Rand would estimate that he was less than a hundred, but more than thirty, slide into the booth. The Wookiee barks a thank you and grins for him, a wide-open thing of long fangs.

"So what can I do for you, Waroo was it?"

Waroo requests more information about why Corellia is revolting against the Alliance.

Rand leans forward, his meal forgotten. "It's not so much a revolt as a desire for self-sufficiency. We believe that Coruscant, and the Alliance in general, has become a bloated, federalized government, which serves only to serve itself. In effect, the Alliance has just become a slightly milder form of the Empire."

Rand leans back as the server droid delivers a plate filled with meats and some type of leafy vegetable that smelled of grakkyn nectar. Rand eyes the Wookiee's food suspiciously, and then points towards it with his fork. "What is that?"

Waroo barks a short name for the dish and then continues with a description of its ingredients.

Rand takes another bite of his spiceloaf. "So, why exactly were you asking about it?"

Rand has been an intelligence agent for his entire adult life. He entered the service right at the outbreak of the Vong War when he turned sixteen. He retired to the Corellian Intelligence Service right after the reorganization due to the Killik fiasco. So he has heard a lot of things, from a lot of different beings.

Yet what the Wookiee says shakes him. It takes all his training, all the skills he has learned not only in intelligence, but also through thousands of games of Paazak and sabacc, to not have his face drop open in surprise.

For before him, is the first Wookiee who has turned his back on the New Republic and the government that came afterwards

"Let me get this right. You want to join the Corellians? What about the life-debt that your people swore to the New Republic?"

Waroo chuckles slightly, a deep, almost woofing sound. Then he lets out a short speech in growls and barks. _The New Republic is dead. If the Honored Han Solo believes in Corellia, then I do as well._

Rand allows a big grin to spread on his face. "Well Waroo, it looks like you and me might just get to be real good friends."


	6. Chapter 6

The blue swirls of hyperspace dissolve as Noelani pulls the levers towards her. Her grin is bright enough to be classified as a new star, and she glances towards her Master in the pilot's station. Tahiri gives her a quick nod of the head, and Noelani leans closer to the co-pilot's panel, shifting power from the hyperdrive to the ion engines. A low thrum - felt more than heard - runs through the ship as the sublight engines come online.

Noelani looks out the viewport, and sees the planet Ambria hanging like a jewel there in space. The tan and brown and red clouds are almost the like flaws of the jewel. Stretched around the planet are the wide blue-grey rings of ice and stone glittering darkly like billions of small diamonds reaching around the planet.

She lets out a small whistle of amazement. "It's beautiful."

Tahiri nods her head slightly. "Yes. If you like these, you should have seen the rainbow bridge on Yuuzhan'tar before Zonoma Sekot ripped it away."

Tahiri reaches forward and grasps the control yoke, banking the _Stolen Star_ slightly, bringing them in. They break into the yellowish atmosphere.

"Master, can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Well, remember when we came back from the mission to Lorrd. After you had bought the _Star_?"

"Yes."

"Didn't Master Skywalker ask you to change the name?"

"Yes."

"Then why didn't you?"

Tahiri shrugs her shoulders. "If I had to give a reason, I would have to say because he asked me to."

"Oh." Noelani's face scrunches up in thought, and she turns her attention back out the viewport. A few minutes pass in silence, and then the _Stolen Star_ flashes over a sprawling city. One which Noelani thinks resembles Mos Eisley or Anchorhead. Low domed buildings, made from stone. Everything colored in browns, reds and tans. The major difference being Ambria's palette is a few shades darker as a base color, a burnt orange as opposed to the yellow-white of Tatooine sand.

She hears Tahiri murmuring into the throat mic and unbuckles her harness so she can get that much closer to the view port. She watches the buildings and landscape, harsh angles of stones and bunches of hardy desert grasses, as they overfly the main settlement. A glitter attracts her attention, and she turns her head slightly, seeing a gleaming compound, its silvery exterior shining, reflecting the golden rays of Ambria's sun. Then she sees the blue and red of the BioTech Industries logo, a symbol etched onto the side of the tallest of the buildings. She estimates that that symbol is taller than she herself is.

Tahiri banks their ship towards the south and the compound is lost from view. Noelani leans back in her seat, something - an uneasy feeling - gnawing at her stomach.

"Master? Do you feel anything out of the ordinary?"

"Nope. Nothing. Why?"

Noelani bites her lips, suddenly wishing she hadn't mentioned it. She lets out a small sigh, hoping that her Master wouldn't notice her hesitation. "It's just that…well, I have a bad feeling about this."

She notices the hardening of the eyes and the slight frown which flickers across Tahiri's face; it is an expression which Noelani has grown used to, one she has learned to recognize as what occurs when something has reminded her Master about Anakin Solo. For a moment, a pang of pain hits Noelani, sorrow and heartache that even after all the year since Anakin's death, she sees that expression on Tahiri's face way too often.

Finally, Tahiri speaks. "Keep your mind focused on the Living Force. Let it guide you, if you don't then you can get too bogged down in the details of the Unifying Force."

Noelani nods her head and says, "Yes, Master."

With a gentle thump, the _Stolen Star_ lands, and Noelani can hear the hiss of the coolant system, and the gentle ticks of the engine switching over to standby mode. They are a subtle music to her, one which tells her that the ship is functioning perfectly, even if she is not entirely certain how she knows that.

She unbuckles her restraints, and jumps up from the seat, heading towards the door when her Master's voice calls out from behind her. "Wait."

She pauses at the door, and slowly turns around, to find Tahiri watching her, one eyebrow hitched in expectation. "You've been begging for piloting lessons. Well the first thing you learn are the checklists. Now sit back down so you can do them."

Noelani nods her head and sighs as she returns to her seat. "Checklists are no fun though."

Tahiri laughs. "Maybe. Maybe not. But they are a part of piloting, and if you ever want to pilot, you'll learn them."

She lets out another long sigh and says, "Yes, Master." Then she pulls up the post-flight checklist on her terminal and begins quickly going through the list of things to do. Finally she is finished, and shuts down her terminal, turning towards her Master.

"I'm done!"

Tahiri gives her a small grin. "Good. Now let's go."

Together they leave the bridge, and leave the ship. Standing at the foot of the ramp is a severe looking woman dressed in a BioTech Industries uniform and an older Twi'lek dressed in simple robes of state.

The Twi'lek bows at the waist, and then smiles for them, a happy grin showing off the rows of sharpened teeth.

"Welcome, Master Jedi. I am Cutiva'nen, administrator of Ambria, and this is the assistant to the local head of BioTech Industries, Thera Holsom."

Tahiri returns the bow, and smiles warmly for the Twi'lek. "Thank you, Cutiva'nen. I am Jedi Knight Tahiri Veila and this is my apprentice, Noelani Darklighter."

Thera speaks up here, her voice grating slightly on Noelani as she says, "Now, that all the niceties are out of the way, why don't you tell us why you're here?"

Noelani rankles slightly at the imperious tone of the BioTech official, but before she can say something feels a gentle touch through the Force from her Master. A reminder to be on her best behavior. She drops her head slightly to hide the blush, and then tunes out the adults, allowing her eyes to flicker around the starport, allowing the Force to guide her gaze.

Off to the east is a large, dilapidated hanger, the burnt orange of its stone construction seems dangerous to her, as if there is something wrong with the building. Something not quite right in the Force. She frowns, and turns to look to the west and sees another of the hangers, the exact same color as the first building, but this one doesn't send bad feelings racing down her spine.

She turns back to the east, allowing her eyes to flicker over the various parts of the building. Then she notices movement, a flicker of a shadow in one of the upstairs windows. She takes a step forward, the Force urging her onward to investigate that building.

"Noelani, are you coming?"

Startled, she lets out a small yelp of surprise, and spins around to see her Master and the other two adults – they are a half dozen paces away from her, all of them looking at her strangely.

"Oh..uhm..sorry, Master. I...I'm coming."

She glances once more at the hanger, and then rushes to catch up to the adults, the fire to explore that building still burning brightly inside of her.

--------------------------------------- 

Chase Polliska can feel his lungs burning; a stitch cropping up in the side of his chest tells him that he has been running for too far, for too long. In the distance he hears the chuff of a plasma weapon, and dives to the side just as he feels the heat of the plasma ball slicing through the air where his chest had just been. The superheated matter splatters against the ground a few yards away, melting the cobblestone of the street into a small glass depression before cooling and hardening.

Chase scrambles back to his feet, and rushes into an alleyway, his eyes scanning the sides of the buildings for an escape route.

From behind him, he can hear the harsh guttural barks of his pursuers. He glances over his shoulders again, and sees the pair who are chasing him turn the corner.

"Shavit," he mutters beneath his breath, barely aware of the fact that he had spoken at all. Facing forward again he pushes his body harder and faster. He darts around another corner, and finds himself faced with a wall about three meters high. Growling another obscenity, he darts for the corner and begins to work himself up to climb over the top.

Pain erupts in across his shoulder and pressure slams him forward against the wall, dislodging him. He falls the two meters to the ground, crumpling into a ball. Something wiggles in his shoulder, the pain driving deeper against the bones in his shoulders; he squirms against the sensations, grinding his teeth to hold in a scream.

A guttural bark sounds above him, and he shifts around, looking up at the mountain of muscle which towers over him. The battle armor he is dressed in glistens sickly, pulsing slightly with a life of its own. Tattered lips stretch to create a rictus of a smile, and Chase can make out the outline of a tattoo twisting around the left eye, claws of some animal clutching at his eye. It sends an instinctive fear crashing through his heart, a fear driven in part by the agony screaming in his shoulder.

A massive hand reaches down and pushes him forward, and pulls at whatever is digging into his shoulder. Chase can taste blood in his mouth as the pain spikes a wave of white agony which tries to wash away his consciousness.

Finally the pain recedes, and Chase looks up, his chest heaving with pain, his sight wavering slightly-still dark at the edges. The hand latches onto his neck, and jerks him upright.

Guttural words erupt from his throat, "_mon-mawl rrish hu camasami_!"

His eyes widen as he realizes that he spoke in an alien language. Even more surprising is that he knows what it means. _Leave me alone._

The hand pulls him around, dragging him down the alley as the warrior barks a command in his language, "_Guvvuk_!"

Instinctively he translates the alien command, _Move. _Chase wonders what has happened to him that he can understand their language. What have they done to him? The hand on the neck pushes him forward again, twisting him back the way he came, heading towards the main thoroughfare for ground traffic.

Chase tries to drag his feet, but the warrior's other hand jabs into his hurt shoulder and pain erupts through Chase's body again. The hand on his neck still directs him, forcing him out of the alleys. They arrive at the main street, and the hand directs him to a waiting transport with enclosed sides.

They push him forward and he stumbles into the cargo area. Chase struggles to his feet, and turns around just in time to see the doors slam shut, shutting the cargo area into darkness. He drops to his knees, lowering his head and slams his fist into the metal floor in frustration; growling another curse as he struggles to not give into his despair.


	7. Chapter 7

Cere Hollista leans back in her chair slightly, watching the man seated across from her. His dark brown hair is parted impeccably, and his tunic is cut along the current fashion lines out from Coruscant. Intelligent brown eyes are settled deep into his face, an aristocratic nose hangs over the thin lines of his lips almost like a beak. One side of his lips is curled slightly into a small half-smile, as if he is aware of some secret of the universe which Cere can never be privy to. His name is Jerod Pollit, and he is a high ranking officer in the Corellian government here to negotiate a treaty with BioTech Industries.

She allows her gaze to flicker over to Rand Shepherd, the Corellian agent introduced to her by the President of BioTech Industries just a few days ago, their contact into the sheltered world of Corellian politics. She notes that he has the same knowing half-smile etched onto his face.

_Corellians_, she thinks to herself. Out loud she says, "So, Mr. Pollit, what exactly can Corellia offer BioTech Industries?" _What are you offering for us to side with you?_

The half-smile never changes. "I think the more accurate question is what exactly is BioTech Industries after?"

"We want certain…guarantees."

His eyebrow arches, and amusement twinkles in his eyes. "Please remember that no government can guarantee you a profit."

"No. Not that. Nothing like that. BioTech Industries is on the verge of massive breakthroughs in the biotechnical arena." She stands up, and gestures towards a door along the far wall. "I'm certain Mr. Shepherd has discussed some of what we do with you, but I feel that our…dialogue would be helped with you having a greater understanding of our business needs and the sort of understanding we would be after from Corellia."

Pollit stands, his eyes still shining their amusement, and follows her from the room. They travel down a series of plain white corridors; anonymous white doors with small keypads beside them are set into the walls at regular intervals. They arrive at a turbolift whose doors are also painted white, with the only acknowledgement that these doors are different than the dozens they had passed being the blue and gold BioTech Industires logo painted on them. In silence they ride the turbolift, falling deep into the complex.

They step off the turbolift, and are standing in a dimly lit walkway. Tall pieces of shining metal display their reflections.

Mr. Pollit's laugh echoes in the hallway slightly. "You came to show us ourselves?"

Inward, Cere seethes. She despises this Mr. Pollit, and Rand Shepherd for bringing him here.

"Not at all, Mr. Pollit. Observe."

She pulls a small datapad from a pocket, and taps a few commands into it. The metal slowly becomes translucent to reveal a girl about fourteen standard years old. Her head has been shaven, and a long scar runs from just above her right eye over the top of her head. Around her neck is some spider type creature, its long legs wrapped tight around the girl's throat, the things tail splayed down her spine.

Cere can feel herself smiling; this girl is one of the earliest and best successes. "She is X56L. We picked her up on Coruscant about three years ago. She is the fifty-sixth subject, and we use her to test implant languages. She currently is fluent in nine hundred and twenty seven distinct languages."

Pollit leans closer to the window. "She can't be of the age to consent to such treatment."

Cere smiles widely. "And now you begin to see the types of guarantees we seek. Of most interest to you would probably be X954A. Come, come."

She strolls down the hallway a little further, and taps a few more commands into her datapad. They stop, and see a young male Twi'lek, approximately 8 standard years old, he is dressed only in a simple loin cloth, and his lekku occasionally twitches. Cere taps a few more commands into her pad.

"We'll be running a test on him in just a few moments."

They watch in silence until the door into the chamber snaps open. A man dressed in the white utilities of a BioTech employee steps into the room, and pulls out a blaster. He aims the weapon towards the young boy, who scampers backwards away from the man. After a moment, the man pulls the trigger. The bolt of energy flies out and strikes the young Twi'lek knocking him backwards against the far wall.

Silence reigns on the observers, as the man in the chamber turns to leave. A few moments later, the Twi'lek boy stands up, brushing away the slight carbon scoring on his chest, anger flashes in his eyes as he watches the far door, and then he goes and slumps into a corner, drawing his knees to his chest, rocking slightly.

Pollit turns towards Cere, genuine interest shining in his eyes. "I take it that process works on other beings besides young Twi'lek children."

"Indeed it does. We have the language grafts, the armor skin, and a host of new weapons based on Yuuzahn Vong biotechnology."

"Yuuzhan Vong?"

"Oh yes. Four decades ago, the height of biotechnology was based on Kamonian cloning capabilities. The future, even though no one realizes it yet, is the integration of Yuuzhan Vong biots into everyday living. Everything from learning a new language to being able to withstand a blaster bolt at close range." Cere spreads her hands wide, enjoying being able to speak about her work, even if it is with this insufferable Corellian. "We also have a host of new weapons – things which the Yuuzhan Vong had not considered as viable shaping paths, but we have developed. These include ranged as well as melee weaponry."

Pollit strokes his chin in thought as he looks down at the young Twi'lek. For once that knowing, half-smile is gone; his face now betrays that he is deep in thought. "Corellia is very interested in what you are offering. These guarantees you speak of, would be blanket permission to experiment as you see fit, even on sapient beings?"

Cere nods her head slightly. "Exactly. If the Alliance learns of the types of testing we perform here, then it would not go well for us, or our shareholders."

"I believe that we can make this work then. I believe my superiors on Corellia could easily be convinced to give rather free reign to businesses."

Cere smiles brightly for the man, and sticks out her hand. "Then it will be a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Pollit."

--------------------------------------- 

Tahiri slips into her thick, outer cloak, its worn frayed edges indicate just how old of a garment this truly is, and the fact that it is about two sizes too large shows that it was not hers initially. But Tahiri doesn't mind the frayed edges. She doesn't care about the number of times that she has had to patch the elbows or repair small holes in the robe.

There's a reason why it is too big for her, but she still wears it.

His name was Anakin, and he was her best friend. He was her family. He was home. She blinks back a tear at the memories, lifting the edge of the cloak to her nose and inhales deeply, straining for the memory of his smell. She knows beyond a doubt that her scent has long ago replaced his, yet every time she puts it on, she still tries to smell him, she still hopes and longs for his scent.

She sighs, and shakes her head, clearing away the old memories and desires, and looks up as Noelani steps into the room, dressed in a simple linen tunic and Corellian style pants. Tahiri gives her a bright smile, and watches as the girl stomps into a pair of Imperial-style boots, and then straightens up.

Her voice is almost musical. "I'm ready now, Master."

Tahiri turns around and walks out the door, Noelani quick on her heels. "So, what are we going to do tonight?"

"We're going to go eat some dinner."

Tahiri almost smiles at the sense of confusion that comes off the girl. "But, what about our mission? Don't we need to figure out what's going on?"

Tahiri bobs her head in an affirmative motion. "Yes we do. But how exactly is that more important than dinner?"

"Well…because it's why we're here."

"Okay, so tell me exactly what we're to do first?"

"Uhm…according to Master Skywalker, on these types of missions, we're supposed to see how people are acting by observing them."

Tahiri glances once at the younger girl and smiles. "That's right. Now how are we supposed to observe them?"

The silence stretches on as Noelani tries to remember the answers from her lessons, and Tahiri enjoys the relative quiet as they stroll down the dusty street. She allows her eyes to flicker back and forth, hunting for a dinner or a cantina that the Force tells her to stop at.

Finally, Noelani speaks again. "I..uhm.. I don't think Master Skywalker said."

"She didn't specify. That's because we're supposed to try and blend in, not be seen. And most of all, listen to the Force. Now for the blending in, what could be more normal than dinner?" She pauses at an Ithorian diner, the Force nudging her forward. She grins, and continues her lecture, "as for listening to the Force. Well the Force says we're having Ithorian tonight."

Tahiri doesn't see the face that Noelani makes at the pronouncement, but she can feel the flicker of emotion which drives it, and almost chuckles. "What's wrong Noelani? Don't like Ithorian?"

The girl sighs slightly. "I just like having a bit more…meat in what I eat."

"Well, we could always try to find a Yuuzhan Vong place. They specialize in meat…usually the raw kind."

Tahiri does laugh at the flicker of emotion at that pronouncement.

"No, no. Ithorian's fine, Master."

"Good. Now let's go in."

She pushes open the door and steps into the diner; instantly noting the giant artificial tree which makes up the main decoration of the restaurant. Surrounding the tree are a number of tables for different sized parties, each of them painted and carved to resemble the leaves still hanging from the branches.

She steps forward and a server droid rolls up and tells them to follow it. Without waiting for a reply, it spins on its single ball-foot and speeds towards a table for two near one of the walls.

They take their seats, and Tahiri glances around the room, trying to figure out why the Force brought her here. She allows her gaze to flicker from one patron to the next

Noelani's voice interrupts her thoughts. "Master?"

Tahiri focuses on the girl. "Yes, Noelani?"

She nods her head towards the corner over Tahiril's left shoulder. "Isn't that the BioTech Industries administrator who met us on the landing field?"

Tahiri gives a quick glance over her shoulder, and sees the severe looking woman from earlier. "Yes, it is. Do you see anyone else you recognize?"

The girl shakes her head no, and Tahiri enters her order into the holographic menu.

A few minutes later the serving droid rolls by and drops their plates off, then speeds back to the kitchens. They eat in silence, Tahiri still occasionally scanning the people. Then she feels a burst of fear from Noelani. She looks up from her plate to the younger girl, noticing that she has become white, and is staring at the far corner.

In the direction of the Biotech administrator.

She turns slightly in her seat, and glances back that way, and sees a massive mountain of a Yuuzhan Vong warrior. She notices that he is bent slightly and gesturing with his hands as he carries on a conversation with the administrator.

Then together they get up and leave the restaurant heading through the kitchen.

"Come on, Noelani." Tahiri stands up, and walks towards the kitchen, brushing through the doors without a sound just in time to catch the warrior and the administrator leaving the kitchen.

She darts forward, and hears Noelani right behind her and they push out through the back exit, the heavy metal door slamming against the building with a large bang which echoes through the alley.

Of the warrior and the administrator there are no signs.

Tahiri starts chewing on her lower lips as she thinks this through, and can feel Noelani's eyes on her, waiting for Tahiri to tell her what to do next. Tahiri scans the sky one last time, then exhales loudly and places a hand on Noelani's shoulder.

"Come on; let's go back to the hotel."


	8. Chapter 8

Noelani throws herself onto her bed, arms stretched out as she stares at the ceiling of the hotel-her eyes following the pattern of cracks in the plaster there.

Finally, she twists her head to look at her Master who is sitting on the edge of her own bed, staring at the wall. She rolls onto her side, propping her head on her hand, and watches Tahiri for a moment.

"So, what are we going to do now?"

Tahiri doesn't respond, just continues to stare at the wall, lost in her thoughts.

"Master? Master!"

Noelani giggles as Tahiri jumps slightly. "What?" Tahiri scowls at her giggling apprentice. "Don't do that when I'm thinking."

She lowers her head acting abashed and says, "Sorry, Master. But I asked what are we going to do now?"

Tahiri smiles at her. "You're going to get some sleep. And in the morning, you'll begin looking for the various parts you will need to build your lightsaber. As well as thinking about hilt designs. Remember, this is something that you will probably be using for the rest of your life-so you want it to build it with care and design it with thought."

She sits up in the bed, suddenly happier. "Thanks Master! But what are you going to be doing?"

Tahiri shakes her head slightly. "I'll be following up our one and only lead, by having a rather boring meeting with Thera Holsom and with her boss if I can manage it."

Noelani flops back onto the bed once again. "Thanks for not making me go to that."

Tahiri shakes her head slight, and gets up, walking towards the door. As she nears it she glances back over her shoulder towards her apprentice. "You get some sleep. I'm going to go look around a bit more – and don't be surprised if I'm gone before you wake up."

Noelani smiles cheerfully, happy at the thought of being able to sleep in late. "Okay!"

Then Tahiri opens the door and walks out into the hallway. The door closes behind her with a soft sigh, and Noelani gets out of the bed and changes into her sleeping clothes. Then she climbs back into the bed, pulling the covers up tight around her shoulders and is asleep as soon as her head hits the pillow.

She awakes to a steady drizzle of rain falling on her, filtered by massive trees stretching up as far as she can see. She glances down and notices that she is in neither her sleeping gown nor her Jedi robes but rather some type of shift which seems to move of its own accord. She pulls at the lower edge of the white fabric, lifting it so she can look at the material it is made from, surprised at its warmth and the fact that it feels like the pelt of a doorvi – a small Tatooine mammal, raised for its suede-like fur and the protein it provides.

She frowns as she sits up, looking around the darkened forest floor, the smell of decaying leaves and rain assaults her nose. The gloom of a perpetual twilight, caused by the massive trees around her gives her a slight chill that has nothing to do with the crisp autumn air. She stands up; brushing the moldy leafs from her hands and the shift that she wears- looking around for some sign of where she is at, of how she got here.

She finds nothing.

She calls out, "Hello?"

And is answered only by a muted echo and the caw of some animal.

Frowning she walks forward, as her eyes slowly begin to adjust to the gloom. A new scent assails her nose, something different than the smell of wet forest. Smoke. A fire. She looks around, trying to find where the smell is coming from and darts along beside the fallen trunk of one of the giant trees. She rounds the corner and finds a small cottage built into the trunk. Paneless windows glow with the cheery warmth of the fire, and Noelani exhales in relief at finding something-some sign of intelligent life.

She raps on the simple wooden door and can hear shuffling sounds coming from within.

The door opens to reveal a boy a few years older than herself. Piercing blue eyes, tussled brown hair and a rakish smile. She has the feeling that she has seen him somewhere before. That she knows him. It takes her a second to regain her composure, and as she is about to speak, he does so first.

"Hello, Noelani. How nice of you to join me."

She takes a step back, biting at her lower lips as she wonders how he knows her name. "Who are you?"

He sadly shakes his head. "That doesn't much matter. I have something for you."

Noelani glances up at the sky-the drizzle has started to come down harder, and more and more drops are making it through the canopy above. She glances once more into the brightly lit hut, "Can we go inside?"

"No. You're not allowed in just yet. Wait here."

She shivers, and imagines that she must look quite a sight with her hair hanging limp, plastered to her face and back by the rain. She rubs her bare shoulders, trying to warm them, a little surprised at how dry and warm her chest and upper thighs are where covered by the still squirming shift.

The boy returns to the doorway and holds out a shaft of metal with black and steel ribbing which runs the half not currently covered by the boy's hand. He pushes it towards her.

"Here, take it."

She reaches out and grasps the metal ribbing and fire races up her arm. She can feel it as it consumers her nerves and arteries as it blisters her muscles. She can feel bands of something wrapping around her arms and legs, holding them together – refusing to let her go.

She screams out.

And bolts upright in the bed of her hotel, feeling trapped and pinned by the covers and sheet which she has tangled around her limbs. Finally she struggles free of the sheets and pushes them away from her, focusing on her breathing and heart rate trying to get them both under control.

She looks around the hotel room, a deep sense of unease filling her.

"Master?"

There is no answer and Noelani frowns for a second until she remembers that Tahiri said she was going to get up early for some meetings with BioTech officials.

She looks around the room once again - Tahiri's perfectly made bed, Noelani's which is trashed from her dream, the small dresser where some of their clothes are and a closet where the rest of their clothes hang. She steps into the small refresher, noting that all the cleansing supplies are still arrayed where Noelani had placed them while unpacking.

She frowns trying to figure out what is bothering her, unable to put a finger on it.

She strips out of her sweat soaked nightgown and steps into the refresher, allowing the hot water of the shower to wash away the last of the tension of the nightmare from her shoulders.

She calls on the Force, allowing it to bleed off her anxiety and fears, quieting her mind, focusing her spirit. With her eyes closed she captures a single drop of water with the Force, and begins making it orbit her body, breaking a small grin she captures another and then another until she has hundreds of water drops flying around her. It's a game she taught herself on one of the first nights she was on Ossus at the Jedi Academy, it was the day that Master Tionne taught her class how to push things with the Force and it was the first time in her life that she had been allowed to spend as long as she wanted to take a shower.

She grins to herself remembering her amazement as she sat on the tiled floor of the shower stall, the water rushing over her as she flew the hundreds of water drops around her with the Force. Marveling as much in the ready supply of water as she was her ability to move the water drops themselves.

Finally the water grows cold, and she turns off the water, stepping out of the shower and grabbing one of the towels from the rack.

She counts the towels again and then turns towards the sinks, once more noting that everything that she unpacked the previous day sat in the exact same spot she placed it. The small bottles of perfume, soaps, and makeup all arrayed in neat, little stars, complemented by the extra, decorative soaps from a bowl the hotel left on the counter.

It is a trait which Tahiri frowns upon, and rearranges at every opportunity.

Wrapping the towel around her, she walks out of the refresher and grabs her comlink, flipping it open to check for any messages. She punches in Tahiri's com code and instantly gets shunted to the message queue.

She drops to the edge of her bed, chewing on her bottom lip, trying to figure out what she should be doing.

Then she grins to herself as she realizes that this must be one of Tahiri's tests. To see if Noelani will panic. That must be the reason she did not come home last night.

With that as a theory, Noelani pushes the uneasiness to the back of her mind, and opens up the closet to pick the clothes to wear for the day. She pulls out a long black cotton skirt, and a light blue linen tunic. She quickly dresses and then admires herself in the mirror. Happy that she snuck this outfit in with her standard Jedi robes. She twirls around, watching the skirt swish around her ankles, and then jogs in place for a second to ensure that it won't hamper her movements.

She puts on her boots and then opens up their travel case of weaponry. The first item she pulls out is a single-use stokli spraystick. Where a standard spraystick is a bit longer and wider around than a lightsaber, the single use version is not much bigger than a writing stylus. She twines the spraystick into her hair, using it as a bone in her braid. Then she pulls out a collapsible staff and straps it to her forearm so that it hides under the long sleeve of her tunic.

Finally she slides a vibroknife into each boot.

Feeling a bit better now that she is armed, Noelani closes up the travel case and leaves the room, checking that the door is locked as she goes.


	9. Chapter 9

Tahiri steps out of the motel room, leaving Noelani alone within it. For a second she hesitates, and almost turns around and retrieves the girl, but once again decides against it. The hotel they are staying out is a long low building, with the rooms exposed directly to the outside, the doorways protected only by a covered walkway. Tahiri walks forward, and steps off the sidewalk, her bare feet crunching slightly on marble stones spread at the edge of the sidewalk. Memories of dreams and nightmares flicker through her consciousness, but she quickly shelves them, focusing instead on the sounds of the night around her.

She reaches out with the Force and feels a small rodent scurrying through the brush, a night-time bird of prey flying far overhead and hundreds of insects, then the dry sage brush which the hotel uses as a decorative border around the hotel. All of it creates a web of life which she is both intrinsically a part of, yet because she was not born here, since humans did not first arise on this planet, she is separated from it, she doesn't quite fit into any ecological niche.

The Shaper within her frowns at that, and for a moment she has the desire to rip apart, to twist, the ecology to fit her needs and desires. With the Force and her Shaper's knowledge she sees so many possible ways to make the ecology better suited, to more conform, to her and her sense of aesthetics. With an effort of will, she rips her thoughts away from that path, focusing once more on what she is going to do.

She pulls her outer cloak tighter around her, as the night air is getting definitely colder. Bundled that way, she appears to be another amorphous blob as she moves through the night. For a moment she wonders why there are no street lamps or other forms of exterior illumination in the area, and glances behind her to see the bright floodlights at the corner of the hotel.

Turning back so she once more faces the darkness of the night, she begins walking, allowing the Force to guide her steps, to tell her where she needs to go and what she needs to do. For a moment, doubt floods her mind, as she considers that maybe she's not powerful enough to listen like this, that without Anakin she's not worth enough to the Force, but she dispels those concerns, deciding to trust in the Force and not worry about anything else.

After about a half hour of wandering through the back alleys of the city, Tahiri finds herself stopped and looking up at one of the many cantinas dotting the landscape of the city which surrounds BioTech Industries. She frowns for a moment as she allows the Force to bring impressions of the building and its occupants to her.

When nothing comes she chews on her lips for a moment, and walks towards the door. She pushes in and finds herself confronted with a huge, muscled man, his bald head gleaming slightly from the spotlight which shines on him from overhead. Behind him Tahiri can make out the massive shape and red glowing eyes of an YHV droid.

The man's voice is low and gravely, with just a hint of anger lacing his words. "I think you're in the wrong place missy."

Tahiri looks up at him.

"When did you start being able to think?"

She's staring him in the face, and knows that the strong light is shining slightly on the scars from her shaping. She grins at him, to add a counterpoint to her words, letting him know that she's insulting him.

He reaches out and puts one of his hands on her shoulder, trying to turn her around to march her back out the door. She calls on the Force, keeping herself in place, and calmly looks down at his hand where it covers her slim shoulder. He starts to squeeze, applying more and more pressure.

She casts a single long look up at him, before returning her gaze to his hand.

"I was shaped by the Yuuzhan Vong. I doubt you have the ability to hurt me. Now let me go."

Then she reaches up and pulls back one of his fingers so hard the snap is clearly audible in the foyer of the cantina. The man yelps in surprise and yanks back his hand from her. She shakes her head slightly and brushes past him into the cantina proper, stopping for a second to allow her eyes to adjust to the light of the dim, smoke filled room. Her nose wrinkles slightly at the smell of tobacc and other inhaled intoxicants and she slips through the crowd settling finally on one of the stools at the bar.

She orders a Corellian whisky when the bartender asks, and tosses a few coins on the bar top. She narrows her eyes and watches him fill the glass. He heaps ice-cubes in, and then throws a meager splash of whiskey over them.

When he places the half-filled glass in front of her, he reaches to collect her coins, and her hand shoots out to grab his wrist.

"That's not full."

"We don't serve little girls here," the bartender growls at her as he tries to pull his hand away. She lets go of his hand and balls her fist, slamming it against the bulb of his nose. His hands fly up, clutching it. "That hurt you little witch!"

She answers with a calm, cold smile, and says, "Fill it up."

Tahiri notices that silence has fallen over the cantina, and she curses at herself for drawing a bit too much attention to herself. Yet she doesn't remove her gaze from the bartender as he massages his nose.

Finally, the man grabs her glass, and returns a moment later, setting it in front of her with enough whiskey in it that she could just about say it was full. He swipes the coins and walks to the till, purposefully ignoring her. She takes a swallow of the amber colored liquor, relishing the slight burn as it slides down her throat. She stares into the liquid, watching the golden flecks as she remembers the first time she had ever tasted it - it was on the Falcon and she was with Anakin, back between their first kiss and Mrykr.

She takes another swallow, allowing the memory to slide away as the liquid slides down. Then glances around the cantina once more, noting that the customers had returned to their drinks and conversations.

She glances to the man sitting on the stool next to her; he has wavy brown hair and brown eyes. Scuffed boots poke out from his heavy duty trousers and a tunic cut along Corellian lines hangs loosely on his body. A blaster is nestled in the holster on his thigh, and Tahiri can just make out that the safety is switched turned off.

She frowns for a second, and then faces him fully, putting on a bright smile for his benefit.

"Hello there."

The man glances up from his drink to look at her. She notices as his eyes dart from the mass of blonde curls down her robes to her bared feet. Finally it settles back on her face, flickering between her smile and her eyes.

"Hi, yourself."

She sticks her hand out towards him, "I'm Tahiri"

He briefly shakes her hand, and before turning back to his drink replies, "I'm Rand Shepherd."

---------------------------------------

Cere glances at the scientist beside her. A foppish man in his late forties, his prematurely bald head gleams under the florescent lighting of the lab. A smattering of freckles adorn his too-wide nose and his blue eyes appear washed out and lifeless. His name is Thesim Gra, as unsavory in personality as he is a genius in biological technology. She knows that the only reason he has accepted this job is because BioTech Industires turns a blind eye to how he treats the specimens.

She turns back to the specimen in the small cell before them. He's a young human male, about fourteen standard years old. Angry brown eyes stare at them from beneath a mop of unruly reddish-brown hair. A scowl twists his boyish features into a petulance which only young human males are able to produce. He is dressed in a pair of navy trousers, a grey shirt and a navy jacket.

"This is the one that escaped last week?"

"Yes, ma'am. Ru Pollsa retrieved him last night."

She reaches forward and turns on the intercom to the boy's cell. "You've put us in a lot of trouble young man. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Go rodder yerself."

Cere smiles slightly, and turns back to Thesim as she flicks off the intercom. "And you say he's the best of our test subjects?"

"Yes. He accepted the language implant and we've given him six of the battle upgrades and nine non-battle implants so far. If we give him more, he'll probably be able to escape again and we won't be able to recover him."

"Do you have any suggestions?"

"I used to work for a company called Binring Biomedical out on Saffalore. There was a brilliant woman there named Doctor Edda Gast. She developed a number of…control methods for various species such as Twi'leks, Sullustans and even Bothans. If we can get her research then we should be able to create a way to control him more permanently. The other option is to try using Yuuzhan Vong slave coral."

"I would prefer not using the slave coral. Send out feelers and see if you can find any information on this Doctor Gast or her research. "

"Yes ma'am."

Thesim scurrys away and Cere focuses once more on the boy in the room. She flicks on the intercom. "Tell me why you don't want to behave for us? We took you in and are caring for you."

The boy doesn't answer just stares at the wall, anger and distrust bright embers shining in his eyes.

Cere shrugs and turns off the intercom, turning on her heel to return to her office.

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Ulya Tu walks down the tongue-ramp of the _Festering Wound_. This is the sixth star system she has visited since her defeat at the hands of the _Jeedai_ whelp, the sixth stop in her attempt to discover more and deeper knowledge of the _Jeedai_ Force. Vjun, Korriban, Malachor IV, Byss, Yavin IV and now Krayiss II. All attempts to hunt for more knowledge, so often met with failure, and twice with planets that no longer exist.

She sniffs the cool air, as she looks around the foliage around her. Immediately before her is an expanse of blue-green grass, which reaches to her waist. Off to the east she can see the start of a forest and to the north the start of foothills leading to a series of mountains – a series of misty blue faces reaching higher and higher.

Ulya reaches into the Force, hunting the source of knowledge which should be here, hunting the ancient Sith library which her Master Lumiya told her once sat on this world. She feels a flicker of something in the foothills north of her. Turning that way she begins walking, intent on finding the knowledge she needs to get her revenge against the _Jeedai_ child. To be able to redeem her honor by destroying the Infidel _Jeedai_.

She walks for days, the cool wind turning decidedly colder as she gains altitude in the foothills. On the seventh day of her hike, she finds what she has been searching for. Nestled into the mountains is a stone edifice. She reaches out with the Force, getting a feeling for the old temple. It is a building nearly as ancient as the mountains in which it is nestled, a place of dark power. The pall of death and the Dark Side hangs over everything, calling her forward, promising her the power that she needs.

Promising her the knowledge to gain her revenge.


	10. Chapter 10

Tahiri groans, wakening to a fog clouding her senses and a throbbing pain situated in the center of her forehead. She struggles to remember where she is, what she was doing, but the last thing she can recall is ordering the Corellian whiskey at the cantina the previous night. She sits up in the bed, clutching the sheet to her chest, and takes a moment to look around.

It's a simple bedroom, containing a dresser, a wardrobe an open door which appears to lead into a refresher and a closed door which Tahiri assumes leads to the hallway. The only oddity is that the far wall is a huge mirror.

She stretches out with the Force, but it is still oddly clouded, and she turns inwards, focusing on her own body. She frowns as she discovers the toxin which has built up in her system.

_I've been poisoned._

She tries to stand, but instead falls down, bouncing off the bed and landing on the floor with a grunt. She opens her eyes, and is rewarded by a close view of the carpet, resisting the urge to vomit as it seems to move and squirm in front of her.

A loud voice seems to thunder at her from everywhere at once. "You'd be best served staying right where we put you, Tahiri."

_And I'm being watched._

She tries to raise her head, frowning as she scans the corners of the room, trying to find the camera, even though she knows it's probably too small to be visible to the naked eye. The movement of her head causes a wave of dizziness to slash through her head and she allows it to drop back to the carpet, exhaling slowly.

She bolts awake as hands grab her shoulder, brusquely yanking her up off the floor. Her eyes travel down the tattooed covered arms until she finds herself looking at the mass of scars, tattoos and open wounds which is a Yuuzhan Vong face. His markings reveal that he is a member of the Intendent caste, and Tahiri strikes out, slamming the heel of her palm against the exposed cartilage of his nose.

The Intendent grunts in surprise and drops her. Tahiri lands on the bed, and tries to stand up, waves of dizziness slamming into her again. She falls back onto the bed, closing her eyes trying not to throw up.

Again, the thundering voice, "You need to behave, young lady."

She lifts her head, glaring at the mirror. "I'm going to kill you."

The voice doesn't reply, and the sound of a door closing draws her attention from the mirror. She looks around, noticing that the Intendent had left the room. She sighs, and drops her head back onto the pillow, staring at the ceiling, trying to use the Force to purge the toxins from her system.

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Noelani happily wanders from shop to shop, keeping an eye on the sun so that she can return to the hotel room before dinner time. She looks up from her wandering, finding herself standing in front of a junk shop. She twists her nose slightly and glancing at the wares for sale in the window steps into the dim interior of the store, her opening of the door is accompanied by the tinkling of bells.

"Wizard." Her voice is silent with awe as she looks around at all the various tidbits of technology strewed around the store. She steps closer to the wall and picks up a flattened dish, with a single large glass visual sensor facing her.

"Wow, this is a Serv-O-Droid DUM-series. This thing must have been around during the Clone Wars."

"You are right on that youngling. That droid has sat in this shop for nearly sixty years now. Far as I know, it still works."

Noelani looks up from the pit droid to see a hulking, aged Cathar behind the counter, his honey-colored fur interspaced with patches of whitish gray, especially around the muzzle and through his mane. He wears a red tunic with gray and black squares around the collar and arm cuffs, and is leaning on the counter. Noelani smiles at him, hoping it doesn't maker her look like prey.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you there. I was just looking around. I hope you don't mind? I love stores like this; you can find all sorts of interesting things in them."

The Cathar chuckles loudly, "I do not mind at all youngling."

At that moment, another Cathar enters the shop from a doorway with steps leading up towards a second floor. Noelani looks at her, noting the familial resemblance with the elder Cather, a sort of similar shape to the muzzle. Short honey colored fur covers her exposed skin, extending to the slightly deeper warm brown of her mane. Yellow eyes shine with an inner light and she is dressed in tight fitted leggings and an equally tight sleeveless shirt. Wrapped around one exposed arm is a thin circlet of gold, matched by a band of gold hanging through one of her ears.

The elder Cathar smiles at the newcomer. "Ah, Lyrvar, how are you this fine morning?"

Lryvar eyes Noelani for a moment, before turning to the shop keeper. "I'm fine this morning." Lyrvar looks at Noelani once again, and she has the distinct impression that the young Cathar is considering her prey. "I must attend to some things, Father."

Without another word, she brushes past Noelani, bumping her and knocking her against some of the broken machinery which lines the shelves. Noelani scowls at the feline alien's back for a moment, at the shopkeeper chuckles once again.

"Pay no mind to Lyrvar. She is still young and I'm afraid the fire in her blood might be a touch to strong for her to be a shopkeeper like myself."

Noelani smiles for him again, as she says, "Oh, it's not a bother. Actually, what I'm looking for is ideas for a design."

She turns away, and begins poking through the odds and ends on the shelves, hunting for something, but not quite certain what it is.

"What are you going to design?"

She glances up at him again, beaming in her pride. "I'm gonna build a lightsaber."

She notices the Cathar raise an eyebrow slightly. "Those are powerful weapons, youngling."

"I know…. but it's okay, because I'm a Jedi. Well, a Jedi apprentice at least."

The big cat smiles, razor sharp incisors flash in the stores lights. "Ahh. A Jedi. We Cathar have long honored the Jedi. Our history tells us that before our planet was destroyed millennia ago, many powerful Jedi came from the Cathar." The shopkeeper chuckles to himself. "But what does a kit such as yourself care of the ancient history of an alien people?"

Noelani tilts her head slightly as she watches the alien. "My Master tells me that history forgotten is destined to be repeated, and that is why we so often have to fight the same war over and over again."

"Your Master sounds wise. I am Drago."

Noelani walks to the counter on which the Cathar leans, and sticks out her hand. "My name's Noelani, it's a pleasure to meet you."

The Cathar's paw seems to engulf her hand as he shakes it, and Noelani can feel the powerful muscles, as well as the tips of his sharpened talons. After a moment, she withdraws her hand and continues looking around the shop.

The bells attached to the door tinkle once more, and Noelani turns that way, her breath catching in her throat as she sees the Yuuzhan Vong warrior strolling into the shop. The warrior looks around him at the machinery; disgust rests undisguised on his features. His living armor glistens sickly in the stark light of the shop, the gray of his flesh seems somehow even more sallow under the fluorescent glare than it would beneath a natural light.

Drago's lips curl back into a silent snarl. "I thought I told you that you were not allowed into my shop again Rulmon Yah."

Noelani can feel her fear pounding at her heart, and she glances around, trying to find a place to hide. Not finding anything, she presses herself further into a corner, hoping the warrior doesn't look her way.

Rulmon Yah walks to the counter, and Noelani realizes that Drago has pulled himself to his full height, and seems to tower over the warrior.

"I do not take orders from you, Infidel. I have come to resubmit my offer. Turn your daughter over, or we will take her."

Noelani can feel the Cathar's anger, and a low growl seems to come from him. Finally he speaks. "Leave."

Rulmon sneers at him, and turns away from the counter, and towards Noelani. He freezes as he spies her, and Noelani takes an instinctive step back, every part of her screaming that she should run from this warrior.

_I'm a Jedi!_

Noelani steels herself, pushing back her shoulders and meeting the warriors gaze head on. Rulmon Yah glances at Drago, his sneer growing wider. "I think I might be able to buy your daughter a bit more time, Infidel scum."

Drago moves so fast that Noelani is unable to track him. One moment he is behind the counter and the next he is up and over it, his claws extended and slicing at the vonduun crab armor which the warrior wears. The warrior is faster though, and slams his fist into the back of the Cathar's head. Drago crumples to the ground, and the warrior pulls out a coufee.

"No!"

Her scream echoes in the small shop, and the warrior glances up at her.

"Don't worry human. I've not forgotten you."

Noelani reaches into her hair and pulls out the stokli spray stick. Her hair falls out of its braid as she aims the weapon. As she depresses the small trigger a stream of grayish-white goo flies out and slams into the warrior, wrapping around him, pushing him back against the shelves.

The spray stick beeps once, an indication that it's empty, and Noelani allows the weapon to drop from her hands. She stares at the warrior who is glaring at her, and Noelani belatedly realizes that she sprayed his mouth and nose shut.

She turns from him, and kneels beside Drago, concern etched on her face. "Are you all right?"

The big Cathar heaves himself up, and looks at the Yuuzhan Vong, who is beginning to go into convulsions. He looks back down at Noelani.

"I am just old, youngling. Though I must notice that our guest appears to be lacking a way to breath."

Noelani bows her head slightly. "Yeah, I noticed also. There's nothing we can do now though. That was a stokli spray stick. Even if we wanted to get it off it would take at least a half hour." Noelani turns towards the warrior, noticing that his face has taken on a blue tinge, and offers him a shrug.

Impassively, she watches as he fights against his bonds, his struggles growing in desperation as his oxygen runs out. Finally after about five minutes, his eyes roll back up in his head, and his struggles cease. Noelani knows that he is only moments away from dying, and she is not certain if she is happy about that or not.

Drago's large paw lands on her shoulder. "It is never good to watch death claim someone, but if you are truly in training to be a Jedi, it is good that you watch the repercussions of your actions."

Noelani frowns at the warrior's still form, and then shakes her head. "That's not why I watched." Noelani tucks her head down, trying to hide her shame and the tears that begin to burn her eyes. "I… I wanted him dead. And not just because he was attacking you."


	11. Chapter 11

Chase lies on his back, staring at the aged ceiling tiles. He notices that certain portions of the white tiles have begun to turn yellow along the edges. An indicator of how old this particular cell is, how long it has been since it has been refurbished.

He turns his head, looking at the door, an electrical state field, currently set to repel and opaque. He knows from experience that the door at this power setting will raise blisters with a pass of his bare skin. It is an experience he would rather not have again. He returns his attention to the ceiling, a plan forming in his mind.

Smiling he glances around the small cell again, and sits up from his bed. Another quick visual confirmation of his cell. He closes his eyes, and listens, trying to hear anyone moving on the far side of the doorway. Finally satisfied that no one is around; he bounces up and jumps onto the bed. He reaches up to the ceiling, and begins prying away at the yellowed ceiling tiles, digging his fingers into the edges between two tiles. Getting his hand wedged above the tile, he pulls in a savage downward thrust and the material snaps apart in large chunks. Reaching up, he pulls another chunk down. And then another. As soon as he has a big enough hole, he jumps up, pulling himself into the small crawlspace between the ceiling and the floor above.

He suppresses a chuckle as he begins scooting through the cramped space, following the HVAC components, hoping that they lead to a way out of the building.

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Noelani finds herself standing on top of a building at the edge of the city, staring out at the reddish brown desert, longing for the binary sunsets of her own homeworld as she watches the pale version of Ambria. She brushes away the latest set of tears, tears caused by her own failings as a Jedi.

She had wanted to kill the Yuuzhan Vong.

She had liked it.

She hears the crunch of a foot against the small stones spread over the roof of the building. She glances behind her, and sees Drago standing there. His fur seeming to blend into the darkening sky and his yellow eyes glitter with intelligence and compassion.

"You're hard prey to track, young Noelani."

Noelani nods her head, and turns back to the sunset. The crunch of his feet against the roof tells her that the Cathar is approaching. He stops beside her, watching the sun alongside her.

"Do you wish to speak of what ails you?"

Noelani frowns, and decides to try to dissuade the older alien from prying into her problems. "I thought Cathar were aggressive hunters. Why do you want to talk so much?"

Dargo bellows a laugh. "Oh we are little one. Have no fears on that. But even for the best of us, as we grow older, tend more to philosophical pursuits than aggression."

She looks at him, one eyebrow cocked. "So as you get older, you talk more?"

"Yes, little one. That is exactly what I'm saying. And we can take a hint. I will intrude upon your problems no more."

Drago turns around and begins walking away from her. As the crunches of his feet fades into the distance Noelani feels a pang of guilt and regret. She knows that he was just trying to help her.

Sighing, she turns away from the sunset towards him. "Drago! Wait!"

He glances over his shoulder, his ears flattening in an expression which Noelani hopes mean that he's curious.

"Yes, little one?"

"I'm… I'm sorry." She closes the distance, lowering her head as she does so. "I know you were just trying to be helpful. It's just… it's painful. What they did to me. I was captured by the Yuuzhan Vong on our last mission. I know I'm not supposed to hate, that it's not worthy of me as a Jedi, but it's just so hard."

Drago nods his head slowly. "You will not find judgment in me, youngling. I too wished to see him dead. He has often come to my shop making veiled threats as to taking my daughter from me. We have often fought – usually to a draw- and have been told by security to stay away from one another. His less than veiled threats directed towards you were just yet another excuse for me to attack him."

They stand in silence as night continues to fall around them. Finally Drago raises his snout, sniffing the evening wind. Without looking down, he says, "Come, join me an Lyrvar for the evening meal."

Noelani is slightly startled as she realizes just how late it has gotten. "Oh! I'm late. I'm supposed to meet my Master at the hotel for dinner."

"Then I will accompany you."

Noelani shakes her head. "No. You go to dinner with your daughter. I'll be fine."

Then she rushes to the ladder which leads to the ground, sliding down it and landing with a low thud. She glances up to see Drago still on the roof, looking down at her, his eyes shining a bright yellow from reflected street lamps. She waves in farewell and darts through the nearly deserted streets.

Within minutes she arrives at the hotel, and notices that a light is burning in the window of the rooms she shares with Tahiri. Smiling happily she rushes forward, and pushes open the door, stepping in without hesitation as she calls out, "Hey! Master! Sorry I'm late, but I was having this-"

She stops in mid sentence as a burly Yuuzhan Vong and a tall lanky Wookiee step out of the 'fresher. She takes a step back and spins around as she hears the door behind her open once more. Standing there is another Yuuzhan Vong warrior and a woman wearing a BioTech Industries jumpsuit.

For a second, Noelani wonders if they could have found out just who it was who killed Rulmon Yah earlier in the day.

The woman steps forward, her face hardening slightly. "Come with me child. Life will be better for everyone involved if you do. Your Master is not here to help you now."

Realization sets in. They are here because of something Tahiri did rather than Noelani's actions. Noelani stares wide-eyed at the woman for a moment, hoping that if she doesn't make a move, they will give her enough time to figure a way out of this mess. Give her a way to find out what happened to Tahiri.

"What did you do to her?"

The woman smiles – to a non-Jedi it might appear warm and comforting but it scares Noelani. The woman's Force presence does not match it. She pools coldness and hate and deceit through the Force. Enough to cause Noelani to take an unconscious step back away from her.

The woman steps forward as she says "Don't worry about that. You'll be reunited with her very soon."

Then tight arms snap around her shoulders, picking her up off the ground. Noelani lets out a short yelp and looks down seeing the tattooed, grey-skinned arms around her. She kicks her feet and feels them flail uselessly against the strong legs of the warrior holding her.

She twists her arms slightly, one hand slipping under the sleeve of the other arm. A moment later she pulls out the collapsed staff. It's a simple weapon, compressed flow-metal, the same technology used in Tendandro battle droids for their self-healing armor, extends from the length of a lightsaber hilt to just over a meter and a half long - equal extension from both ends. Noelani raises the staff, positioning it as close to the warrior's face as possible, and then depresses the small button to extend it.

The weapon extends into the warrior's eye and he bellows in rage, dropping Noelani. Without hesitating she twists the staff around and slams it against the side of his head. He crumples to the ground bleeding profusely from where she had struck him.

She hears the Wookiee behind her growling, and the woman in front of her screaming, "Get her!"

Without waiting she jumps up on the bed and grabs the warrior with the Force. Hefting him, she grunts as she throws him through the large window. She is moving that way even before the warrior breaks through. Jumping through the window, she lands on the warrior she threw and trips over him. She tosses out her arm trying to break her fall and can hear the sickening crack of her arm breaking.

She screams but stands up rushing forward, trying to escape. Trying to figure out where she can go.

With the back of her hand, she scrubs tears from her eyes as she runs from the hotel. The Force tingles, and she drops to the ground and rolls forward, biting back bile as her roll takes her across her arm. With a solid thunk-a thud bug slams into a speeder parked a few meters away. She goes to slap the bug with her staff and realizes that she has dropped it somewhere.

Muttering a curse that she has heard Tahiri use, she dives down an alleyway, hoping to loose her pursuers. The short bark of a Wookiee lets her know better, and the Force prompts her to dodge again as a thud bug flashes past her ear.

Spying a door along one wall, she skitters to a stop, her feet sliding slightly on the dirt which covers this particular section of alley, and presses her hand against the door beside her. She pushes with the Force and the door flies inward, crashing into some metal shelving. Without hesitation she darts forward into the darkened shop, enhancing her night vision with the Force.

Chewing her lower lip she looks around, trying to figure out what to do. A low growl startles her and she turns towards the door. Backlight by light from the street she can just make out a dark shaggy form standing in the doorway. She reaches out with the Force, and picks up the door hurling it at the figure standing there.

She smiles viciously as a Wookiee howl of pain rings out as the door slams into him. She turns away and rushes further into the store, heading towards the front. Arriving at the front door she uses the Force to break it down as well and steps out of the store, casting a glance over her shoulder making sure her pursuers haven't caught up with her yet.

She is smiling and turning back to face forward when something warm and sticky slaps against her face, covering her mouth.

Her eyes pop open wide in surprise as she struggles to scream, and she raises her hands to pry the goop away from her face, realizing as soon as she touches it that she can no longer pull her hands away. She tries to inhale but can only feel the jelly bulge into her nostrils and she almost panics, realizing that this is how Rulmon Yah felt as he died.

Rough hands grab her and push her down to the ground and she collapses to her knees and elbows. She can feel her skirt and tunic ripping on the harsh pavement and burns erupt on her knees and elbows as she is dragged backwards slightly.

Pain from her broken arm flares through her consciousness, driving the edges of her vision black. Then she can feel more of the cold, slimy gel being applied to her ankles and then they're pressed together so that she can't move her legs.

Hands pull her face sideways, sprinkling some bitter smelling salts near her nose, and suddenly she can move her hands.

Before she can react though, they pull her arms back nearly dislocating her shoulders in the process, applying more of the jelly to them, keeping them straining that way. Sickened from pain, she realizes that she can feel the edges of the broken bone as they grind against each other.

The woman in the BioTech Industries uniform walks up and looks down at her, that cold, heartless smile still there on her face.

"You should have been a good girl."

She nods her head, and pain blossoms in Noelani's forehead, driving her into the black oblivion of unconsciousness.


	12. Chapter 12

Rand settles into one of the chairs as the large brown-furred Wookiee sits in the one across the table from him. They both swivel in their seats, to face the holoprojector situated on one wall. After a moment, the face of Jerod Pollit resolves into existence. His smiles for them both, and nods in greeting.

Without further preamble, he begins the meeting. "I have a favor to ask you both."

Waroo growls a question, asking what the favor is.

"I want you both to go to Kashyyk and try to bring the Wookiees into the war on the side of the Corellians."

Rand nods his head in acceptance, already planning the trip there in the back of his mind. Waroo scratches at his fur for a moment, and then asks Pollit why believes that the Wookiees will join them and leave the alliance.

Pollit's jaw clenches as he looks at the Wookiee, and finally answers, "Because you're the one doing the asking. We know who you are Lumpawaroo, and more importantly, we know who your father was. Your family still has worth on Kashyyk and we're banking on that worth."

Waroo rocks back in his seat slightly, his blue eyes growing larger and his mouth opening, instinctively baring his fangs at the realization that these humans know who he is, who his family are. Finally he regains control of himself, and growls that he might not be accepted by the Wookiees, that he is supposed to be watching over Han Solo, continuing his father's Life Debt to the human.

Rand turns to the Wookiee. "We'll tell them that you're doing this for Han Solo. That he asked you to come there and bring the Wookiees into the war. It's fairly well known that he's siding with Corellia."

The Wookiee scratches at his fur for a moment longer, and then barks a short affirmative.

Pollit grins widely. "Great! We'll be sending a transport out to you, and it should be there in a day or two. You both are doing great jobs for Corellia."

Rand nods his head, and the Wookiee woofs a thanks as the hologram flickers into nothingness.

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Noelani slowly regains consciousness, her broken arm still screaming in pain, and the lesser aches from her scraped knees and elbows a dull throb in the back of her mind. She opens her eyes, feeling the cold press of metal against her cheek. Struggling to get up, she eventually manages to kneel, swaying slightly in the dark. Her eyes are opened wide and for the most part useless as she twists her head around, trying to find some escape, but only managing to see thin shafts of light seeping in from loose joins where the walls, floor and ceiling meet. The scent of musty air and dust clogs her nose, and a sudden lurching to the side almost sends her falling back down.

She regains her balance, and realizes that she is in the back of a transport, a wheeled ground-truck judging from the occasional bounce and jar.

She exhales slowly and tries to pry her arms out from the jelly, and growls in frustration as she is unable to release herself. She wonders for a moment, just how long she was unconscious for, but decides that in the end it probably doesn't matter.

The transport suddenly bounces hard and with a short yelp Noelani falls over. Her scream is cut short as she lands on her broken arm and the sudden flare of pain drives her back into the arms of oblivion.

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Tahiri opens her eyes. The dream of pain and the adrenalin of a fight surge through her system. She closes her eyes again, and exhales strongly, pulling the Force to her through the haze of drugs which clouds her mind.

She reaches out with the Force, touching her apprentice through their training bond – and feels that the girl is not conscious. Unfortunately the drugs in her system make it where she is unable to tell if Noelani is sleeping normally or if the girl has been rendered unconscious through other means.

Somehow, it doesn't seem to matter - but she thinks that might be because of the drugs in her system.

Growling softly, she reaches for the Force again, struggling against the lethargy which envelops her and then reopens her eyes. Slowly, she sits up in the bed and looks around the room, which is really more of a cell than anything else. The big one-way window taking up most of one wall, another wall with its energy door to keep her locked in. A vent in the ceiling which makes a small hissing noise - Tahiri figures that is where they are pumping in the drugs which are keeping her sedated and groggy.

The one-way mirror flickers and loses its opaqueness. Tahiri can make out two figures standing on the far side watching her - a human woman around Leia's age, wearing a BioTech jumpsuit and a Yuuzhan Vong Shaper. For a moment, nightmarish images of her time in the vivarium on Yavin IV flicker through her mind, but she brusquely pushes those thoughts away, along with the realization that there will be no Anakin to rescue her this time.

The human flicks another switch on her side of the wall, and a hidden speaker crackles for a second.

"I just wanted to say thank you. A lot of our research is based on your own shaping, and to have you delivered this way to us will assist us greatly as we continue on."

Tahiri waits a moment before saying anything, trying her best to keep her thoughts focused on what she's trying to do – mainly escape this cell. "Do you think I could get some clothes?"

The woman shakes her head, almost sadly. "Unfortunately no. You Jedi are too unpredictable, so we're not giving you anything that could be used as a weapon. Which includes clothes."

Tahiri mutters a curse under her breath, and lays herself back down; pulling the sheet up over her head. Once her head is covered, she starts grinning as she tightly clutches the strong fabric in her hand.

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Chase struggles through the ducts to the end of the building, and glances out of the vent to see the entrance to the ground transport loading bay - slanted ramp, which allows vehicles to pull right up to a large rolling door, keeping the floor of the building level with the floor within the transport.

He glances around the exterior, and fails to see any transports, no way for him to escape the perimeter of the complex. Sighing in frustration he begins working his way back through the building, searching for another vent which leads to the exterior.

When he is about a dozen meters from the vent, he hears a horn. The shrill sound he remembers from when he was returned to the complex from his last escape attempt. He quickly rushes back to the grating, to see a wheeled ground transport swinging around to back down the ramp.

From beneath him he can hear the sound of the ramp rolling upwards, a metallic rumbling sound, and the voices of two different people talking. He grins and drops to his butt, placing his feet on the grate in front of him, and then pulls his legs back and slams them against it, knocking it out and sending it flying towards the transport.

He hears one of the people beneath him yell something in confusion and grabs the edge of the vent, swinging down through the opening beneath him. Landing on the platform, he grabs the first BioTech security guard and flings him hard out the doorway. The man slams against the transport with a bang, and the driver suddenly brakes, but not quick enough to not run the guard over with the transport's large wheels.

Chase spins towards the second security guard, noticing that he is pulling out a stun baton, and Chase dives at him, knocking him to the ground. He grabs the handle of the baton, and twists savagely, enjoying the sounds of bones breaking in the man's wrist, and the accompanying screams. Chase flips the baton around and shoves it against the man's chest, flicking the switch and sending a strong jolt of energy through him.

He stands and takes a few steps backwards and then runs towards the opening and jumps, landing on the roof of the transport with a bang. Scampering forward he drops down onto the hood of the truck and slams the baton against the windscreen, shattering it. Then he jabs both the driver and the passenger with the stun baton. For a moment the smell of ozone hangs heavy on the air, as he clambers through the broken window and pushes the driver out of the seat. Then he drives the transport up out of the bay. As soon as he has cleared the walls, and can open the door he drags the two out of the transport and rockets away, laughing at his escape.

The transport bounces as it drives over the uneven earth, and Chase sees the perimeter gate – a large mesh of metal which is currently closed. He guns the engine and the transport jumps forward, and the guard assigned to the gate steps out, waving his hands at Chase, trying to get him to slow down.

Chase doesn't hesitate, just slams into the gate, which breaks with a resounding crash. The transport bounces a couple more times, and Chase winches the steering column to the right, nearly flipping the top-heavy machine with the savage turn. He continues driving, getting further and further away from BioTech. As he drives, he reaches over to the small computer mounted to the dash; he grasps it and pulls hard, snapping the mount. Once it is removed, he casually tosses it out the front window, hoping to run it over with his tires.

Half an hour later, he pulls into the garage of an abandoned building, jumping out of the transport and closing the rusted metal door of the building. He leans against that door for a moment, breathing hard, the adrenaline leaving his body tired and his knees weak. Finally after he catches his breath, he walks back to the transport and opens up the cargo bay to see what he has stolen.

His mouth drops open and he just stares, having never expected the transport to contain what it does.

It is a young girl around his own age, with long blonde hair arrayed around her. Se is either sleeping or unconscious. His eyes travel her body, noticing how her arms and legs are bound by the blorash jelly.

His own features narrow, as he wonders if he should help her or not. It won't be long before BioTech finds their truck, and he believes she would probably slow him down.

The girl moans slightly, shifting her head and he realizes that she's starting to wake up. Frowning he turns and steps close to the edge, just about ready to jump off, and hangs his head.

_I can't leave her to BioTech._

He sighs and turns back to her, as she raises her head, and stares at him with the clearest blue eyes that he has ever seen. His breath catches in his throat and he's lost in their depths.

"Who are you?" Her voice is musical, with an odd lilt to it, as if she was raised on a Rim world.

Chase shakes his head to clear it, and replies, "I'm Chase. I guess I kind of rescued you from BioTech."

Her eyes fill with suspicion, and Chase takes a step backwards as he says, "Hey, if you don't want my help I can always leave. BioTech will be here in a little bit to get their truck."

The girl lowers her eyes, "No, I'm sorry. Please get me out of here."

Chase nods his head and grabs a bag hanging by the door, reaching into it and pulling out a handful of the stuff he has seen the guards use to remove the jelly. Leaning over, he sprinkles the salt on the blorash jelly binding her. Within moments, Noelani is able to move her arms, and she stands.

She smiles brightly for him, and he feels his heart begin to beat faster.

"Thank you, I'm Noelani."

Chase makes a noncommittal noise deep in his throat, one that is utterly at odds with the interest he finds in the girl. Turning from her he jumps down out of the transport, landing in a slight crouch, and then walking towards the broken human-sized door next to the one designed for transports. He glances out, and turns back towards Noelani, noticing how bedraggled she looks – mused hair, torn and bloody clothes, and she seems to be cradling one arm as if it hurts. He nods towards it. "Is something wrong with your arm?"

She glances down, her eyes glazing over slightly for a moment, before focusing on him once again. "Yeah, it's broken. I broke it while running from the warriors."

Chase frowns slightly, trying to figure out how to get help for her without alerting the authorities and by extension BioTech. He sighs, unable to come up with a solution. "Well, come on, we got to find a better hiding place, and hopefully a way off this dirtball."

He darts out of the building, some part of his mind noting that Noelani follows him, her movements nearly as quiet as his own. What he doesn't see, is the look of fear and concern that flashes across her face at the news that they'll be trying to get off world.


	13. Chapter 13

Thesim Gra looks in the mirrored window, knowing that no one stands on the far side watching his actions. And knowing that even if there were, there is nothing they would do about it. His eyes take in the jowls of fat hanging from his cheeks, eyes that are dull and almost appear grey. Wisps of his thinning hair flicker around from the breeze of the air circulation system.

He turns to the occupant of the room, a young Twi'lek girl around fourteen years old. Her blue skin is mottled with grey bruises adorning her arms and legs and her eyes are lifeless and stare off at the wall. She is huddled up around herself, arms tightly wrapped around her legs, as she has wedged herself into a corner of the room.

Thesim smiles at her and licks his lips as he walks over to her and kneels down beside her. Sitting the case he carries on the floor he pulls out a syringe and tourniquet and grabs her arm, pulling it away from her legs. He ties the tourniquet around her upper arm, and waits a second for one of her veins to begin throbbing – and when it does jabs the needle in, drawing out a vial of her blood.

He sets that to the side, placing it carefully in the appropriate pocket of his case and then pulls out a hypodermic injector. He presses this against the side of her neck and shoots the cocktail of drugs it contains into her system. An involuntary shudder runs through her slight frame.

He grabs her face, and drags her so that her eyes are staring at him and smiles as she tries to scamper back further into the corner, fear flickering life into her eyes.

"Your name is Tsup. Do you understand me?"

The girl nods her head quickly, her lekku twitching slightly and he drops her chin. Then he stands up and walks a few steps away from her. "Tsup, come here."

The girl looks at him, her eyes bulging in fear as she stands up and takes hesitant steps towards him. Thesim nods his head and pulls out a datapad taking a few notes. He looks back up at her, and points towards the far wall –the one with the one-way window on it. "Tsup, run into that wall."

With less hesitation, the girl turns from him and takes off at a run right into the window, rebounding back slightly as she hits it. She leaves a small smear of blood on the glass from her nose, and when she stands back up is holding her hand against her nose - trying to staunch the blood flow.

He makes another few marks in his datapad. "Tsup, return."

More hesitation as the girl slowly walks towards him, fear and worry coloring her face the closer she comes. Finally she stops a step or two away from him.

Reaching into his bag, he pulls out a laser scalpel and hands it to the girl. "Tsup, cut your arm."

She hesitates, and then runs the small laser down her arm, whimpering slightly as blood oozes through the wound.

Happily, Thesim makes a few notes, and then pulls out a dermal bonder, and motions her to come closer. When she does, he takes back the scalpel and then seals the small wound at the edge of her nose and the cut from the scalpel.

He puts away the medical devices and smiles at her, once more licking his lips. "Now Tsup, we are going to have some real fun."

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Cere stands outside the door to one of the specimen's rooms, waiting for Thesim to finish within it. She watches as the door opens, and Thesim steps through, casting a malicious grin back through the doorway. Cere can hear the whimpers of the young Twi'lek within and shakes her head in disgust, before focusing fully on the scientist.

"How goes the mind control research?"

"Doctor Gast's research is brilliant, and though we were unable to recover all of the necessary research what we do have has allowed us to control this Twi'lek at least. One problem is that her will is not entirely subsumed by the drugs. Things she fears she will still hesitate to do."

"Is that a problem?"

Thesim slowly shakes his head as he replies, "I don't think so. The important thing is that she still does them. She's just a bit slower at it then when she is doing something which she doesn't fear."

Cere nods her head, and begins rubbing her chin and pacing back and forth, three steps away from Thesim in each direction. She smiles as she realizes that this might be a perfect solution to their problem with the Jedi Knight.

She looks up at him. "Are you ready to start on humans?"

"I could probably figure out which of the drugs would work on human metabolism within a few hours. After that it's a matter of administering the drugs."

Cere smiles happily. "Good. There's a subject in room Aurek-9, she's currently being kept sedated and tranquilized because she's rather…" Cere pauses here, thinking of an appropriate word to describe the young blonde woman Rand brought them. "Feisty. You have permission to try the mind control drugs on her."

Thesim grins, and nods his head. "I'll get right on it."

Cere waves her hand absently at her. "Good. Give me a status report when you have results."

Thesim turns away from her and begins walking down the hall, calling out an affirmative over his shoulder. Cere watches him for a moment, and then sneering with disgust she turns around, walking down the hallway towards her own office.

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Kyp Durron and Kam Salousar are slowly walking the halls of the Jedi Temple. The small rooms to either side of them are host to classes on everything from lightsaber combat to astronavigation. Yet the tense, terse tones of the two Masters' voices show that though they are performing their customary inspection of the trainees, their minds are far away and focused on other things.

Kam shakes his head. "I'm telling you Kyp, we told her to keep in touch, and she hasn't contacted us in days and neither of them are responding to our hails. We need to send someone to check on her."

Kyp sighs, and lowers his head. "I understand your concerns Kam, but who should we send? I don't think we have a Knight who isn't an instructor left in the Temple? And we've sent a few of our instructors out, bringing in non-Jedi to teach their courses."

Kyp stops at one of the rooms, and pushes open the door revealing a dozen flight simulators arrayed in a circle around a lectern. Standing behind the podium, is a human male around the same age as Master Skywalker – his blonde hair and goatee are cut short and his lips are moving slightly as he speaks into the headset microphone strapped to his head. He glances up at the two Jedi Masters in the doorway, and nods his head, and then returns his attention to the podium. Kyp knows that there is a display there, showing a tactical feed of what those students in the sims are doing. He points towards the instructor. "See, that's Tycho Celchu. We dragged him out of retirement to teach this course so we could send Doran Tainer out on a mission."

Kyp sighs as he notices how set Kam's face has become. The elder Jedi speaks slowly. "Tahiri is like a daughter to Tionne and myself. I say we need to send someone to check on them."

Kyp runs a hand through his long black hair, sighing once again. "Fine. Tell me someone we can send without harming or stopping any of our current operations and I'll approve it."

Kam smiles, almost as if he already has an answer for Kyp. And to Kyp's dismay, he does come up with an answer which meets Kyp's requirements.

Kam simply says, "You."

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Noelani watches as Chase leans against the side of the building, twisting out so that he can see around the corner. She winces slightly, her arm still throbbing from the break despite the makeshift splint which Chase fashioned for her. She touches the Force once more, turning off the pain receptors in that arm. She focuses on Chase again, noticing that he has inched closer to the corner and is focused on something on the far side of it intently. From that direction, she can hear the shuffle of sounds and muted voices. Frowning, she inches closer and touches her hand to his shoulder.

Her voice is barely above a whisper, as she asks, "What are we doing?"

He glances at her, confusion flickering over his face. "I'm going to get us something to eat."

She frowns for a second. "Why are we acting like spies then?"

He looks at her, and she can feel an odd tingle in the Force, or the pit of her stomach – she isn't sure just where it is coming from yet.

"Because I'm going to steal it."

Noelani rocks back on her feet slightly, her mouth opening in shock. "Why?"

Chase shakes his head, letting out a sigh. "Because we don't have any money for anything – let alone for food."

Noelani giggles slightly. "Yes we do, dummy."

She sticks two fingers into the waistband of her skirt, and pulls out a small credit chit, holding it up towards Chase. She almost laughs again as he slaps his hand against his forehead.

"Why didn't you tell me you had money? And next thing you're going to tell me is that you know just who your parents are, and they're still alive."

She can feel her jaw tighten, at the taunting tone his voice has taken, and she glares at him. "You didn't ask me if I had money. And yes I know who my parents are… at least my adoptive parents. My real ones died in the war. Why would you be mean like that?"

Chase frowns. "You know who raised you? Are they still alive? Everyone else that BioTech has picked up has been unwanted street kids like me. Why would they grab you?"

Noelani shakes her head. "I don't know anything about that. Me and my Master came here to investigate BioTech and I went shopping and when I came back found these guys going through our rooms. They said they had captured her and I ran. But they got me, and that's when you found me."

She notices the Chase is watching her oddly, and frowns as she cries out, "What?"

"Do you breathe while you're talking?"

She makes a small noise of annoyance and then stands up, walking around the corner and into an open-air market. She smiles happily, and turns around, looking at the various wares, and finally spies a small booth selling clothes. She rushes over and picks out a new shirt and a pair of trousers that look like they would fit, and quickly pays for them. She turns away from the booth, and runs into Chase standing there behind her, gritting her teeth as awareness floods back into her arm.

He glances down at the clothes, and then back up at her. "You ready to get some food now?"

She smiles happily for him, and bobs her head in an affirmative motion twice. "Sure. Let's find a place for me to change, and then we'll go get something to eat."


	14. Chapter 14

Tahiri raises her head, poking it out from beneath the sheet. When she hasn't been eating, exercising or taking care of hygienic needs, she has been beneath this sheet, with it pulled up over her head, for the most part motionless. At first, they would come in and check on her. Two or three different people – usually one of them was a big burly warrior. Finally they seemed to realize that she was just sleeping or hiding and it started only being a single person coming to check on her.

Then they had stopped.

They had come to expect her to be beneath the sheet and she could feel in the Force the flicker of surprise at those times when they stop at her window and saw her out from beneath it.

For a moment, she wonders what it was that prompted her to poke her head out. Was it a sound she had heard? Or maybe a prompting from the still elusive Force. She gives an internal shrug – the drugs in the air still making it hard to focus and concentrate or even care about anything.

It is mainly pure intellectual desire – plus the horrifying memories of her own shaping – which drives her to escape. She gets up, pushing the sheet away, prickles rising over her body in the cool air of her cell. She steps into the simple refresher area – a toilet and a shower. It was more of an alcove than a room, a tiled section of her cell – even the shower lacking a curtain to keep the sprays of water confined.

She turns on the water now, stepping under it, allowing it to flow over her as she considers her next move.

She reaches out with the Force, stretching for Noelani and can barely feel her – a small brilliant candle in the back of her mind, just enough awareness for each of them to know the other is alive and for the most part unhurt – but not nearly the usual strength and clarity of their training bond.

---------------------------------------

Kyp Durron rests his head against the flight couch of his X-Wing, wondering once again how he managed to get roped into going to Ambria to check up on one of the Jedi Knights. Of course he can understand Kam's concerns.

Both Tahiri and her apprentice, Noelani, were seriously injured on their last mission. And though Cilghal has given them both clean bills of health the Council was still hesitant on sending the pair on this mission.

The navicomputer beeps and he goes about the task of dropping from hyperspace, changing course slightly and then once more entering hyperspace. That chore done, he closes his eyes and begins to meditate, stretching out trying to feel Tahiri.

Yet the harder he pushes, the more his frustration grows. For all he receives is the mental image of a fog.

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Chase leads Noelani away from the open air market, wondering what the people there make of the two of them. Two kids, a boy and a girl, obviously too young to be out on their own, and to top it off the girl's clothes are ripped and bloodied. He sighs, and casts a glance behind him, hoping no one is following them.

Happy that he doesn't see anything suspicious, he turns a corner, leading them further away from the market district and towards the industrial area with all of the abandoned buildings located there.

As they walk, he finally notices a change in the upkeep of the buildings – the ones around them now are decidedly shabbier and unkempt. Some appear on the verge of falling down on themselves.

Movement catches Chase's eye and he sees a pair of speeder bikes idling near one of the buildings, on their engine housings is the blue and gold logo of BioTech.

Without thinking, Chase reaches over and grabs Noelani's hand, pulling her towards him, as he darts towards one of the buildings which appear ready to be condemned. With a solid kick, he busts open the door and pulls her in as well, quickly closing the door behind them.

"What's wrong?"

He looks at her, noticing how wide her eyes have grown and wondering how they can be such a clear blue. Then he shakes his head, focusing on the problem at hand.

"BioTech security"

"Oh!"

Chase turns around, and cracks open the door, peering out, watching the speeders bikes. After a few minutes, he can feel Noelani tugging on his jacket. He glances back over his shoulder at her, and sees the look of fear etched on her face. He raises a finger to his lips – a universal symbol for quiet and then turns back to the cracked door, watching the speeders.

Finally two BioTech security officers walk up to the bike, conversing about something. He lets out a sigh as the pair climb aboard their bikes. Their engines roar into life, a rumble which shakes dust loose from the ceiling, raining it down on them. Chase continues watching the street until the noise has gone and then closes the door, turning back to Noelani.

"I think they're gone now. Hurry up an get change so we can eat." As he says this he turns back to the girl, almost surprised to find her unbuttoning the line of buttons which run down the front of her shirt. He can feel his mouth drop open, and knows that he is staring.

"Uhm…"

Noelani's head bounces up, and she finds him staring at her. He notices a blush cropping up on her cheeks as fire flashes in her eyes. "Do you mind?"

Chase is taken aback slightly, and quickly averts his gaze even as he turns back to face the door. "Oh! No. Yes. Sorry. I… I didn't see anything or nothing."

Chase hears the shuffle of clothes and fights the desire to turn around to watch her. After what feels like an eternity, she announces, "Okay. I'm done. Help me with this."

He turns back around, and sees her pressing one knee down onto her old skirt, as she works a vibroknife down the tough cloth, apparently trying to cut it into thin strips even as she favors her broken arm. Ducking down, he takes the blade from her, and quickly cuts the skirt into strips.

She points towards three pieces of metal just a bit shorter than her forearm. "Use those and re-splint my arm."

Chase quickly starts to work, and not for the first time wonders how he knows to do this as he ties the three metal bars around her arm. Once he's done, she settles cross legged on the ground, and closes her eyes. He scratches the top of his head, wondering what she is doing.

Almost as if she's read his mind, her eyes pop open, and she looks up, catching his gaze. Amusement seems to flash through her eyes. "I'm trying to get in touch with my Master."

"You've said you had a master before, are you some type of slave or something?"

The amusement quickly fades away from her eyes, replaced by some darker emotion. "No! My master is the best Jedi in the Order."

He feels as if someone has slapped with and he rocks back slightly, suddenly very untrusting of the cute blonde in front of him. "You're a Jedi?"

Her head rises quickly, as she looks at him, and he now has to wonder if she has done something to him, caused him to let her follow him around using her Jedi tricks. As he watches, her face seems to fall, and she drops her eyes, looking away from him.

"You don't like me now, do you?"

He kneels down beside her. "I didn't say that."

"But I could feel the suspicion and fear when I said I was a Jedi."

Her body begins to shake slightly, and Chase looks around bewildered, trying to figure out how to fix the situation.

Her shoulders hitch, and he can hear her sobs. "I can't find my Master, I know only two folks here, one's an old Cathar and the other one hates me."

Chase drops down beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "Hey, I don't hate you."

She looks up at him, her eyes wide; a tear runs down the side of her face closest to him. "Y-you don't?"

He grins, and shakes of his head. "Of course I don't."

Then to his surprise, she twists around and leans into his embrace, resting her head against his shoulder, pressing her face into the crook of neck. Startled, he wraps his other arm around her into a tight hug before he realizes that is what he was doing.

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Thesim stands and watches the lump on the metal cot covered by the thin sheet. His greedy eyes trace the curves and bulges, telling him that he's most likely dealing with a female human. He plugs his datapad into a socket next to the large window, and a moment later it pings.

He pulls it out, and reads over the information about the Jedi specimen. He frowns as he notices that she had been shaped by the Yuuzhan Vong, and as he reads what was done to her realizes that her shaping should have no effect on the mind control drugs. Next he pulls up an image of her, and licks his lips as he stares at the image of a pretty blonde, the three vertical scars on her forehead somehow enhancing her beauty. He notices the note in her file, saying how all she does is spend time under the sheet and one of the psychiatrists believes that she has given up hope, saying something about how she feels safe beneath the sheet, and that she will not now try to escape her cell.

He reads her name. _Tahiri Veila._ Smiling, he speaks it aloud, "Tahiri." He likes how the sound of it seems to roll of his tongue.

Movement within the cell draws his attention and he looks up to see the girl from the picture staring towards him, her green eyes dull from the tranquilizers and mind control drugs being pumped into the room. He watches her, and almost as if she feels his scrutiny, she pulls the sheet up and back over her head, lying back down on the bed.

He chuckles slightly, and walks around the corner to the entrance to her cell. He approaches and his badge lights up slightly and at the same time the door to her cell flickers away to nothingness. He steps through and the door turns back on.

He takes a step or two into her room, his eyes glued to the form lying still on the cot.

"Hello, Tahiri."

She makes neither sound nor movement. No indication at all that he had even spoken. He closes the distance to her cot, and yanks the sheet off of her, and stares, startled by her already being nude.

He grins. "You will speak when spoken to. Hello Tahiri."

"Hello." Her eyes widen slightly, and he can see the confusion pooling in them, as if she can't believe she had just spoken. He grins, glad that she is beginning to understand her fate.

"That's right. You must obey me. Now, stand up."

She swings her long legs off the edge of the bed, and stands up, rocking back and forth slightly on her heels. Graceful, feminine movements, which Thesim enjoys watching. Anger rolls up from the fog in her gaze, and Thesim licks his lips once more, realizing that he's going to really enjoy this.


	15. Chapter 15

Noelani steps out of the small diner, Chase's hand twinned tightly in her own as he follows behind her. She looks up and down the street, happy that there's no BioTech personnel within sight. She turns to Chase.

"So what now?"

"We need to find a way off world. Which one really doesn't matter. We just need to get out of here."

She frowns, concern for Tahiri blossoming in her chest. "But what about Tahiri? I can't just forget about her."

"We really can't help her though. The longer we stay on the planet, the faster that some of those BioTech goons get us. And we don't know anyone with a hypercomm transmitter that's not part of BioTech. We need to go somewhere else so that we can even hope to call for help."

Noelani sighs, and turns towards the spaceport. "I know. I just don't feel right about leaving Tahiri. She risked her life to rescue me. I should do the same."

Chase shrugs his shoulders. "If she risked her life to rescue you, do you think she'd want you to throw yours away trying to rescue her?"

Noelani silently shakes her head and begins moving towards the spaceport. "Then I guess I should tell you about the _Star_."

Before long, the two teens are hiding behind some crates, a short distance away from the _Stolen Star_. Noelani frowns, a feeling of danger hanging over everything. She shakes her head slightly. "This is no good. They have to be watching her."

She can feel Chase nodding his head. "Yeah, in fact there's one on the far side of the landing strut."

Noelani leans against the crate slightly, straining her eyes, and can just barely make out movement around the rear port landing strut. She sighs, and looks towards Chase. "Any ideas?"

He gestures with his head towards the left. "Come on."

Together they crawl through the landing fields, checking on every ship in the port. They finally stop at a medium-sized Corellian transport, where a human and a Wookiee are arguing as they load supplies into the hold.

Chase grins at her roguishly and says, "Looks like they're going somewhere."

She shakes her head. "I don't know…that is a Wookiee."

"It'll be all right. Trust me."

She sighs. "Okay, but if I get my arms ripped off I'm not talking to you any more."

She grins as he barks a short laugh, and admits to herself that she kind of likes the sound. He takes her hand and they creep towards the transport, quickly closing the distance between them and the two. For a second, Noelani has the feeling that she should be listening to what the two are arguing about, but she pushes the feeling away to the more immediate concern of sneaking aboard the spacecraft.

Noelani suddenly has an idea, and makes a gesture towards a stack of boxes on the far side of the ship, pushing them with the Force. The top one tumbles to the ground with a loud bang, and both the man and the Wookiee look over.

The man pulls his blaster and both go to investigate. With their backs turned towards Chase, Noelani and the main hatch, the two teens dart forward, and quickly climb aboard the transport. The look around, and Chase drags them to the common room – a large room with a holotable offset from the exact center, and a small galley set off to the side. Grabbing her hand again, he pulls her towards the corridor leading deeper into the ship and comes to a cross way – one path leads to the cockpit the other leads to a gunnery well. Looking up and down the hallway, he pulls her further into the ship. He glances into the first room they come to, and notice that there is a travel bag sitting on the bed. Then they go to the next room and find that it is empty.

Frowning, they go further down the hall, and enter the room furthest from both the cockpit and the ramp, and find it in use. Chase presumes it is the captain's quarters as it is larger than the other two rooms and with more personal paraphernalia than the first room. Chase quickly backtracks and enters the second room, pulling her in as well, shutting the door behind them.

Noelani looks around the small cabin, and realizes that it is designed for only one person and contains merely a cot, a small dresser/desk and a half refresher – basically just a toilet and a sink.

She drops to the bed, happy that it doesn't creak or make a sound as she does so. Then chase is brushing her hair away from her ear, leaning in close to it. His breath is warm and she has to suppress the urge to giggle and twist away as he whispers in her ear.

"We're going to have to be very quiet in here."

Noelani nods her head and then stretches out on the bed, the events of the past day and a half quickly catching up to her. She rolls to her side, and cradles her broken arm.

Then to her surprise, the bed shifts and she can feel Chase stretching out beside her, and then his arm wrapping around her stomach, sending flutters through it. She snuggles back against him, feeling safe and warm in his embrace, and then closes her eyes allowing sleep to claim her.

She jolts awake when the ship shudders as it jumps into Hyperspace. She frowns as she tries to get her bearings, trying to remember how she got here. She groans as the dull ache from her arm reasserts itself, and can feel the arms wrapped around her grip her tighter in response to the noise that she made.

That is when she realizes that she's wrapped tight in Chase's embrace, nearly laying atop his chest. Blushing, she tries to extricate herself from his arms, the movements causing him to cling to her tighter.

Giving up, she lays her head back down, and allows the drumming of his heart to lull her.

The next thing she knows, she can feel someone gently running a hand through her hair. She keeps her eyes close and her breathing even, just enjoying the feeling of contentment which runs through her at the simple caress.

She reaches out with the Force, feeling Chase's focus as his attention seems directed towards the top of her head, and she can feel both a blush cropping up on her cheeks, and her lips twisting into a lopsided grin.

Then she reaches out further, feeling the human and the Wookiee in different parts of the ship. The Wookiee closer to them, just a few meters on the other side of the door to the unused room they're hiding in. Then she reaches further, stretching herself, trying to touch Tahiri's presence, sending her awareness down through their training bond.

She finally gets a flash of her master, feeling the anger and outrage which rolls back to her through their training bond. Then Tahiri clamps down on the training bond, cutting Noelani off – not allowing her to feel what her Master is feeling.

She opens her eyes, and twists her head to look up towards Chase, blinking back the tears that have already sprung to her eyes.

The movement seems to startle Chase slightly, and he stops petting her hair, and just frames her cheek with his open palms.

He whispers, "What's wrong?"

"Something's very wrong with my Master. And she's hiding it from me."

Then the she feels the gentle tug in the pit of her stomach which indicates the reversion from hyperspace to real space. Turbulence causes the ship to shudder slightly, and Noelani sits up suddenly, looking off towards where the sounds of the engines have suddenly become very strained.

She closes her eyes, and stretches with the Force, with that part of her that has such an affinity with mechanical devices – and can feel the wrongness in the engines. Instincts tell her that they have not been properly maintained.

She jumps off the bed, landing in a slight crouch, and starts to the door. Chase grabs her arm, and hisses, "What are you doing?"

She pulls away and palms the door release, darting through, calling back over her shoulder, "The engines are going to blow if we don't do something."

She hears the startled roar of a Wookiee as she brushes past him, and opens the door to the engine room. As she does, black smoke billows out, and she utters the first thing that comes to mind, "Sithspit."

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Tahiri hears the energy door flicker off and then back on again, and then the soft steps of someone wearing soft-soled shoes of the type preferred by the technicians and scientists employed by BioTech. She can feel a grin stretching her lips, and knows that this is the time to try to escape.

A male voice intrudes on her awareness. "Hello Tahiri."

She clenches her jaw, not responding, keeping her body still, and ignoring the man.

Then the sheet which covers her is ripped away, she inhales sharply as the warmth of the sheet is suddenly replaced by a blast of cold air. Her eyes pop open and finds herself staring at a middle-aged man. His hair is greasy and limp, and heavy jowls frame a pair of dull blue eyes.

She narrows her eyes as he grins.

His voice has a nasal whine and says, "You will speak when spoken to. Hello Tahiri."

She snorts and wonders for a second what sort of spice the man has consumed, if he thinks she is going to answer him. Then she hears something which catches her off guard. A feminine voice, with a very slight Tatooine accent. Her voice.

"Hello."

She can feel her eyes widen, and she wonders what could have possessed her to actually speak.

Then the man speaks again. "That's right. You must obey me. Now stand up."

She throws her legs off the edge of the bed, toeing the floor for just a moment, before shifting her weight forward and standing up. She rocks on her heels, trying her best to sit back down – but her body refuses to obey her wishes. She lifts her head to look at the man and can feel anger cut through the fog which the tranquilizers create in her mind.

Then she notices the smile which touches the man's lips – her anger growing as his grin grows wider.

"I see you're beginning to understand your plight. Don't worry, I'll probably order you to enjoy yourself, but we have introduced a series of chemicals in both your food and your air which makes you obey every order you're given. Now don't move."

She grits her teeth, wanting nothing more than to slam her fist into his meaty face, and watches him as he steps closer. As his hand runs down her arm, she struggles to move. To twitch even so much as a single finger.

He walks behind her, his hand trailing around, caressing her butt.

Her anger and outrage erupts in her chest as the trailing finger crosses her body, coming back around to stop in her belly button.

She focuses inward, pulling the Force to her, delving into her body. She can find the various tranquilizers and sedatives in her bloodstream, and bypasses them, hunting for the other chemicals that have been introduced into her body.

She quickly begins purging the toxins from her body, setting that task on automatic as she once more focuses on the world around her. As she does so fire blossoms across her arm, and she looks down at the thin slash across her forearm. She looks to her other hand and finds herself holding a laser scalpel.

Then his voice calls out from behind her, "Sit."

Tahiri hesitates, and grins as she finds that she is able to, and then she drops to her haunches. Thick fingers snatch the scalpel away from her, and she curses under her breath, having hoped that he would leave it with her.

She can feel his fingers twinning themselves into her hair, and she has to stop a shudder of revulsion from his touch. Then pain blossoms throughout her scalp as he pulls back on her harshly, dragging her head backwards. Tears rise unbidden to her eyes, and she opens them, seeing the vague, blurry outline of the man's face above her.

His voice sounds thicker. "We're going to have some fun now."

Tahiri utters a Tusken curse and bounces up, hearing the sickening crack as the top of her head collides with his face and a dull ache blossoms across the top of her head. She spins on her heel, facing him to see him sprawled across her cot, holding his nose, blood staining the white tile of that wall.

She can feel her lips part into a smile as she stalks forward. She straddles him, settling herself on his chest, gently laying the tips of her fingers on his temples.

He moves his hand and looks at her with venom in his eyes. "You Jedi whore! I'm going to get you for this."

Tahiri just sadly shakes her head. "Oh, I don't think so. Now show me what BioTech is doing here."

Then she steps into his brain, ripping the knowledge that she seeks from him. She opens her eyes in horror as the images of his treatment of the test subjects flash through her mind's eye. The desire to vomit rears its head and she forces the bile back down.

She leans forward, moving her hands from his temples to wrap them around his thick neck. He starts to come around, and for the first time she sees a genuine emotion in his eyes. Fear.

"This is for all those little girls you sick monster."

Then she squeezes, and with just a touch of the Force, she hears the clean, clear snap of breaking bone.


	16. Chapter 16

Rand sits in the cockpit of the _Nicholas_, his Corellian Engineering Corporation YT-1930. It really is not his ship, but is the one provided him by Corellian Intelligence for his mission. He watches the blue swirls of hyperspace, an almost hypnotic twisting of light and color. The navicomputer beeps, and he looks down, watching the numbers scroll down from five. He reaches forward and grabs hold of the hyperspace levers, pushing them forward as the countdown hits zero.

The lights and colors vanish, replaced by the stretched lines of stars which compress back down to single, cold pinpoints of light. Hanging off to port is the viridian jewel which is Kashyyk.

He sighs and shakes his head, cursing his luck once again for having been assigned this mission. He brings the sublight engines online and feeds them power – causing the entire ship to shudder.

His eyes widen in surprise as a half dozen indicators switch from green to red, and a dozen more indicators which should be red flicker to green. He presses a few buttons on the console and a display flickers to life – showing the sublight engines, and the problems associated with them.

The ship lurches again, and Rand unbuckles himself, standing up and turning towards the interior of the ship. He sees a flash of blonde hair dart towards the common room from the direction of the cabins and then a Wookiee howl of surprise.

He rushes forward, turning towards the common room, just in time to see the blonde – a young kid – yank open the pressure door to the engine compartment, a billow of black smoke pouring out from the room.

The girl darts into the smoke and Rand yells out, "Hey kid! What do you think you're doing?"

From behind him, he can hear an unfamiliar voice, "Noelani!"

He turns to see a dark-haired teenager standing near the corridor that leads to the crew cabins. He turns to the Wookiee.

"Do you know what these two kids are doing here?"

Waroo growls a negative, and he sees the soot covered blonde stick her head out from the engine room.

"Do you have a hydrospanner? I need one now!"

Growing angry, Rand steps forward into the engine room, coughing at the smoke. He strains his eyes, seeing a flash of yellow near an open access panel to the sublight engines.

"Just what the kriff do you think you're doing to my ship?"

The girl throws a quick glance over her shoulder at him, disdain easily evident on her oil-smudged face. "Saving us. Haven't you ever heard of engine maintenance? Now, where's the hydrospanner – I can't tighten these things enough by hand."

Rand turns away, wondering about the wisdom of listening to the girl, and then rushes to a cabinet and pulls out a hydrospanner. He returns to the engine and sticks it into the opening, where the girl is leaning into the inner workings of the machinery.

"Here," he brusquely states even as he wonders at the girl's sanity as she pokes around a live engine the way she's doing.

He tries to see into the dim engine compartment as she yanks the tool from him, unable to see anything save the occasional flash of blonde hair. "I hope you know what you're doing in there."

"Me too, now go try to restart the engines."

Rand frowns as he considers what the girl is saying, finally stating, "That could kill us."

She pulls out of the engine and turns on him, fire flashing in her blue eyes. He notes that she is young, at most thirteen standard.

Her voice is filled with annoyance. "Crashing will kill us. Now go!"

He blinks his eyes as he realizes that he's jogging down the corridor towards the cockpit, having already ran through the common room. For a moment he wonders what happened, and then decides it doesn't matter as he slides into the pilot's station. He pulls the engines offline, and notices that they are quickly falling in towards the planet. Only a few dozen kilometers from the atmosphere with that number rapidly dwindling.

Uttering a prayer to whatever higher powers the blonde in the engine compartment believes in, Rand brings the sublight engines back online, feeding them power.

The ship lurches as she comes back under control, and the warning indicators all flash away from red – with a worrying large number of them staying yellow. Yet he still lets out a sigh of relief, he can happily handle yellow.

They pull up out of their uncontrolled descent, assuming a more safe entry vector. Rand contacts the space port at Rwookrrorro, asking for permission to land. As he receives it, he turns control of the craft over to the automated landing system and then shakily gains his feet, and walks back to the common room.

He finds Waroo towering over the two teenagers, and crosses his arms, frowning at them. The boy has reddish-brown hair and brown eyes, and appears more wary of Waroo and himself then the blonde does. Finally, he asks the first question, "And just what should we do with the two of you?"

The two share a quick look between themselves and then the blonde replies, "Well, since we saved your lives, you could always drop us off whatever planet we're landing on and forget we exist."

Waroo growls a question at them, and though the two look at him, neither go to answer it. After a moment, Rand translates.

"He wants to know why you think we should let two stowaways loose on his homeworld."

Again that shared look, and the blonde speaking, "Because we saved your lives?"

Rand frowns for a second, and then goes to the weapon locker. He pulls out two pair of stun cuffs and a blaster. Turning back to the stowaways, he trains the blaster on them, while tossing the cuffs to Waroo.

He laughs at the look of outrage and indignation which crosses the blonde's face as the Wookiee places the cuff on the boy. He frowns as she yelps when he grabs her arm to put them on her.

The boy speaks, "Be careful you hairy oaf! She's got a broken arm."

The Wookiee growls at the boy, a response that needed no translation, and Rand's admiration of him notches up a bit as he doesn't back down from the Wookiee's aggression. Yet Rand notices that Waroo is gentler with the girl now that he knows she is injured.

Once they are both in the stun cuffs, Rand gestures with his blaster towards the holotable. "Go ahead and make yourselves comfortable. Kashyyk security will be here to pick you both up soon."

Then he walks back towards the cockpit, to contact planetary security and tell them about his two stowaways.

---------------------------------------

Kyp leaves hyperspace. The blue and orange ball of Ambria, with her massive network of stone and ice rings, lies dead ahead of him. He accelerates towards the planet, reaching out once more to Tahiri in the Force. She still feels muted and blunt in the Force, but there is more of her presence and he can feel her control of her Force presence now. She acknowledges him in the Force, a quiet prompting which equates to "hurry."

Kyp pushes down the throttle and his X-Wing jumps forward quickly breaking the atmosphere, ignoring the startled cries of planetary control. He can see the red and orange from flames licking the sides of his spacecraft as he breaks the border between space and air, coming in at a slightly too sharp of a trajectory. He flashes over the single settlement on the planet. A sonic boom traveling in his wake, rattling some of the older buildings.

He sees Tahiri's ship settled on the tarmac, and banks around it, firing his braking thrusters and repulsors simultaneously, coming to a halt in mid air and drop the last five meters to a landing. Even as the ship is falling, he pushes open the canopy and uses the Force to fling himself up and out of the X-Wing. With a back flip he lands in a crouch beside the _Stolen Star_.

He looks towards the ship, trying to figure out what to do now, as the Force suddenly screams out in warning. In an eyeblink his saber is out and the blaster bolt is being sent back towards the landing strut from which it came from even as the sound reaches his ears.

He rushes towards the rear landing strut, and grabs the tunic of the human writhing in pain from the blaster wound to his shoulder, kicking the odd looking blaster away from him. He growls as he hauls him up off of the tarmac.

"Who are you?"

The man coughs up blackish blood, and grins as his face splits down the middle rolling backwards and down the body. In surprise, Kyp drops the man, who rolls and stands up, towering over Kyp, as the masquer finishes as a pile of empty flesh as the warrior's feet. An amphistaff uncoils from the warriors arm, hardening into blade shape.

Kyp reignites his saber as he takes a step backwards and says, "Oh."

---------------------------------------

Tahiri rocks back on her haunches at hearing his neck snap - her eyes focus on his dead, lifeless gaze and the shock of taking a life with barely thinking about it rolls over her. She shakes off the shock, and quickly strips him of his uniform and dresses in it. She frowns as it conforms to her body as if it were a living shift of the Yuuzhan Vong. Then she hefts his body up onto her cot, pushing his dead form into the same shape that she usually made. Covering him with the sheet, she turns away and walks towards the door, calmly stepping through as the energy field flickers into non-existence.

She pauses at the unfamiliar corridor and looks back and forth.

Sighing, she opens herself to the Force, and feels the bright, shining presence of Kyp Durron. She sends a feeling of urgency, and then focuses on where she should be heading. Shrugging, she turns left and confidently walks down the hallway. Coming to a cross corridor, she turns right and walks on.

She comes to a large blast door. Frowning, she walks closer and her badge glows for a second and then the doors slowly rumble open. Tahiri cautiously creeps forward, wishing she had her lightsaber. She finds herself in another long hallway, this one darkened and filled with viewing windows.

She steps up to the first window and looks in with a deep sense of horror slamming into her.[SSW1] Within the room is a young, blue-skinned Twi'lek girl – not much older than Noelani. One of her lekku has been amputated, and scars adorn half of her face, and dance down the arm closest to Tahiri.

Images that she had ripped from Thesim's head flash through her mind's eye and she knows that this is one of the people who he violated and tortured.

Anger rips away the last of the fog which has clouded her brain since awakening in the cell. An anger based on her experiences at being captured and shaped. Anger due to the fact that this innocent girl is being tortured in the same way.

Growling, she reaches out with the Force and grabs a hold of the window and then yanks. With a squeal of stressed metal and the roar of crumbling ferrocrete, Tahiri pulls the window from the wall. She clenches her fist, and the transparisteel window partly shatters and partly crumbles into a ball which she then drops. She looks into the room to see the girl huddled in the corner- she stretches out her hand, making a "come here" gesture.

"It's okay, I'm a Jedi, come on we're getting out of here."

* * *

[SSW1]Can anything be done to increase the sense of horror here?


	17. Chapter 17

Rand is leaning against one of the tree branches, twined to make a pole, a few yards away from the Rwookrrorro Council Chambers. With a bang, Waroo opens the door, and stalks out of the chambers, his shoulders hunched, and frustration and anger pooling off of him. Waroo looks around, and catches sight of Rand, and ambles over to him.

"So, how did it go?"

The young Wookiee growls something about old timers who like the status quo, and turns away, walking down the broad wooden path, which hangs between two of the great woshyr trees. Rand falls into step beside him, quietly keeping him company.

They make a few turns, which appears somewhat random to Rand, but as they enter a darkened stretch of the path, a massive, shaggy shape looms up out of the night.

Rand lets out a yelp of fear as the shape finally resolves itself into another Wookiee. Waroo introduces him as Pollitichuk, and then goes on to explain that he is another Wookiee who believes as Waroo does.

Rand grins. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Let's go find a nice cantina to talk."

Pollitichuk growls that Ackmena's Catina is around the corner.

---------------------------------------

Noelani sighs as she looks at the literal-minded security droid standing watch over her and Chase, his metal form standing just outside the energy bars to their cell.

"I'm a Jedi Apprentice, please let me get in contact with Ossus."

The droid's photoreceptors focus on her, glowing with a yellow internal light. "This unit is programmed to recognize all active Jedi Knights. You are not in my databanks."

She lets out a growl of frustration. "Listen you tin can, I'm not a Knight yet, now as an Alliance citizen don't I at least get to speak to a lawyer or something?"

"Pursuant to the Treasonous Activities Act persons caught illegally traveling on any spacecraft are classified as terrorists to be held for interrogation by the Galactic Alliance Guard. You are being detained without communication until a Galactic Alliance Guard unit can arrive to collect you."

She can feel her anger growing, a tight ball settled in the pit of her stomach. She turns her head, to see Chase lounging on one of the wooden cots provided in the cell.

"Do you have any more bright ideas?"

Chase's head twists towards her, a solemn look on his face. "Not right now. You?"

She clenches her fists, and stomps her feet, letting out another burst of frustration, this time directed towards her cell mate rather than the security droid. She looks down at the bacta patch placed over her broken arm, and works it back and forth happy that the sharp shooting pain has been replaced by just a dull ache.

She probes the healing break with the Force, and growls as she notices that the knit has happened slightly off-center.

"What's wrong now?"

She looks up from her arm, her features twisting into a scowl. "I'm in jail and now I find out that my broken arm healed wrong so they're going to have to re-break it when we get out of here."

She turns back to the droid. "I want to contact the Jedi Order. And I mean now!"

The droid impassively watches her, driving Noelani's anger higher and hotter. She begins pacing, walking back and forth the eighteen steps from one wall to the other.

Finally she stops in front of the cell, growling at the door. A part of her is aware that Chase is sitting up on the cot now, looking at her with worry-filled eyes.

She can feel the Force gathering around her, clear and clean, begging to be used. Whispering how easy it would be to escape, if she would just let go of her control.

"Last chance, tin can. Let me contact the Jedi Temple or else."

"Threatening a security droid is a class-three felony, punishable by a minimum of one year in a maximum security penitentiary."

Noelani screams in anger, and stretches out her hand, calling the Force to her. She wraps the droid in a tight embrace and begins to squeeze, happily watching as the machine's arms and legs crumple in towards the torso, the head slowly being crushed down – all while she clenches her hand into a tight fist. The sound of stressed metal squeals in the confined detention area and electricity arcs out from the droid striking the walls around it.

Finally the sound stops, and Noelani has a ball of useless metal gripped in the Force. The exterior door opens, and two Wookiee security officers step into the room, looking at the floating orb of metal and Noelani can feel their shock at what they're seeing.

She flicks her fingers and the former droid shoots down the hall slamming into the Wookiees, knocking them both back through the door, and taking a large part of the door frame with it.

Stepping to the side, she swings her arm towards her stomach, and the ball comes shooting back towards them, crashing through the cell's door, the electrical beams erupting in a small explosion.

She holds the crumpled ball of metal and energy in mid-air in front of her for a few heartbeats, smiling at it. Then she hurls the ball into the back wall of the cell. It warps slightly, but the ancient wood stands up to the onslaught. Noelani growing even angrier pulls the ball back into the hallway and sends it slamming into the wall again. The wood buckles, and gives way, allowing the hunk of metal to careen out into the night air.

She walks to the edge, looking down into the black abyss of the jungle, and allows the ball to drop into the depths. She watches the silver orb as it disappears from sight, and then turns to find Chase staring at her, a mixture of awe and fear painted on his face.

She looks up to see an YVH entering the detention block, and she regrets dropping the ball. Edging closer to the hole, she stretches out her hand towards Chase.

"You coming?"

His hand grasps hers, and she can feel electric fire running up her arm at the touch. She smiles for him, and then takes a running leap out of the hole, dragging him out into the abyss after her.

His scream echoes through her ear, and she reaches out with the Force, anchoring it to a platform – a broad expanse of wooden boards, a large square between a few buildings built into the tree trunks – a dozen meters away and a bit further than that down. She pushes against the platform; even as she drags them closer – using the platform's own inertia to slow down their fall.

They land, and she drops Chase, tucking herself into a roll to absorb the remaining kinetic energy of the jump. Standing, she looks back towards the detention center, and can just make out the glowing red eyes of the YVH droid staring at them.

As Chase stands, the eyes disappear and then a flash of metal appears in the distance, following their trajectory – coming towards them.

Noelani grabs Chase's hand and begins running away, once again dragging him behind her. He stumbles trying to keep up with her.

"Hey! Slow down a bit would ya?"

She shakes her head, her blonde hair billowing around her. "No time. That Hunter is gaining."

The droid lands on the platform, causing it to ripple from the force of its impact. The sudden movement knocks both teenagers off of their feet, sending them skidding across the walkway.

The droid's step sound heavy in Noelani's ears and she looks up to see the hunter closing, his repeater blaster being raised as he draws near.

A deep masculine voice speaks out in Basic. "Halt. Surrender yourselves or I will be forced to fire."

She looks from the droid to Chase, noting that he's already reached his feet, and clambers to her own.

Then a flash of metal bisects her vision and Chase is flying away from her, the droid taking up position where he had just been. She takes a couple of steps backwards, running up against the railing with her butt. She takes a last look at Chase where he's lying on the far side of the platform, his face bloodied from the strike he took from the YVH droid, and then she flips herself up and over, letting gravity take its course.

She is falling through the trees, flying past the various levels of the Wookiee city – flashes of wood and light barely perceptible as she falls. Then she slams into a branch, her abused body screaming in pain. Something heavy lands on the same branch, causing it to sway from the sudden increase in weight. Just enough movement to start her sliding again. She begins slipping off, and she rolls over casting her arms wide. Her hand clasps around an unexpected protrusion from the wood – a pommel of metal. It halts her slide for a moment, until the pipe starts to work itself loose, and she realizes that it's not firmly seated into the branch. A warm, masculine voice seems to whisper in her head, a calming voice, telling her to center herself, to not panic. To reach out with the Force.

She opens her eyes, and looks down at the abyss of darkness beneath her, suddenly afraid.

She glances up to see the red-eyed, skull-faced hunter droid standing half a meter away on the branch. It takes a step towards her, and the branch shifts, bending downwards slightly.

The metal pipe pulls out, and she is falling once again.

---------------------------------------

Kyp brings his saber up even as the warrior dives towards him. He bats the amphistaff away, and slams his fist into the warrior's side – ecstatic that the warrior isn't dressed in the usual vonduun crab armor.

The warrior grunts, and twists with the blow, bringing his elbow up and into Kyp's ear. The blow jars his head, and he can feel a tooth trying to work itself loose. He rolls away from the warrior, bringing his saber back up just in time to catch the amphistaff once again.

Kyp's foot darts out, aiming for the warrior's kneecap, hoping to break it, but instead, the warrior dances out of reach, and then darts in once again, the scales of his weapon flashing in the arc-sodium lights which line the landing area.

Kyp dances back a few steps, creating a space between himself and the warrior. The angry buzz of his blade and his own slightly labored breathing are the only sounds on the landing field.

He slashes in, and the warrior flicks his wrist, transforming his amphistaff from bladed weapon to whip. Kyp backpedals as fast as he can, and throws himself to the side, but the warrior is faster and the whip slashes in, slicing down Kyp's sword arm.

He drops his saber, cursing as it rolls in the opposite direction he himself goes.

He lands, and uses the Force to push himself into a backflip. Landing once again, he drops to a crouch, watching the warrior advance. He looks around for his saber, and then glances down at his feet – noticing for the first time, the odd blaster which the warrior dropped.

And notices that it is slowly inching its way back to its owner.

Without hesitating, he reaches down and picks up the weapon, frowning as it squirms in his grasp. He points it towards the Vong and grins as the look of shock appears on the warrior's face.

Kyp squeezes what he hopes is the actuator and the animal spits out a ball of plasma which strikes the warrior in the middle of his chest.

The warrior flies backwards, and lands in a heap, a thin wisp of smoke coming from the smoldering hole in his chest.

Kyp looks in disgust at the blaster biot and then tosses it away. Shaking his head slightly, he asks himself, "Why the kriff can't they use real blasters?"

Calling his blade back to hand, he notices the blue and white logo barely visible above the burn marks on the tunic which the warrior is wearing. The logo for BioTech Industries.

He looks up, and sees the gleaming building off in the distance, towering over the other structures in the city. That same logo outlined by spotlights adorning the side of it.

He reaches out with the Force, and can feel Tahiri off in that direction, and without stopping to think, he begins running that way, looking for a speeder he can commandeer.


	18. Chapter 18

For Geoff Il today is just like any other day.

He leans back in his chair, his feet propped up on the desk in front of him, part of his mind idly drifting, while he pretends to watch the series of closed circuit cameras which are situated throughout the complex.

While he knows he is supposed to be alert – he trusts the computer to actually alert him if something happens.

And in the six years he has worked for BioTech Industries here on Ambria, nothing has ever happened.

He enjoys his job because it is a quiet job. Peaceful. And nothing ever happens.

Unfortunately for Geoff Il, today is not his day.

The computer barks an alarm, startling him, and he tips back in his chair, toppling it over, and cracking his head against the hard tile floor.

Uttering a curse, he stands up, and punches a few keys into the console, to discover that Thesim Gra has wondered into the observation area of Black Sector. And though the computer says he has access to those test subjects, he is expressly denied access to the observation corridor.

Geoff shrugs at the seemingly conflicting orders, but turns on the camera for that section of the building. He frowns as the person in the video is a young woman, only a few years younger than he himself is – with blonde hair tied back into a tight pony tail. He frowns for a second, and checks the profile for Thesim Gra, making sure it says male.

He is reaching for the microphone to tell her that she needs to report to personnel because of an error in her badge when she holds her hand out towards the wall and to his surprise the window suddenly rips out of it.

He curses out loud in his surprise, and slams his fist on the alert button. Then he picks up the commlink and taps in the code for the guard's station. "We have a Jedi in Black Sector."

---------------------------------------

The Twi'lek girl hesitatingly steps out of the cell, her red eyes locked on Tahiri's face, the girl's own face angled to hide the hideous scars which run down one side. Confusion and distrust sing in the Force.

And Tahiri nods her head, flooding the Force in return with feelings of comfort and good will. Her hand is still stretched out, palm up, fingers open. A sign of trust, a request for trust.

"I'm not going to hurt you, and I won't let them hurt you anymore either."

The girl slowly slips her hand into Tahiri's and she helps the girl take the step up out of the cell and into the hallway where Tahiri stands.

"My name's Tahiri. What's yours?"

Her voice is hoarse from disuse. "I'm Aseem'lya"

Then the door which Tahiri had entered the hallway through slams open, four guards stepping through – two of which are Yuuzhan Vong warriors, and the other two feel human in the Force.

Aseem'lya steps behind Tahiri, hiding behind her.

The two humans drop to a shooter's crouch and level blasters at her. Their plasteel armor is glinting in the dim lighting of the hall – the full face visors giving them an anonymous air and reminds Tahiri of things she saw in old holograms of Rebel soldiers during the Galactic Civil War. The Yuuzhan Vong warriors take up position on either side of the humans, their amphistaffs uncoiling from around their arms – their vonduun crab armor glistening.

One of the humans calls out, "Get on your knees and put your hands on top of your head. Now!"

Tahiri looks down and back, looking at Aseem'lya's face. "Step back into the cell and wait for me to come back. Okay?"

"You won't leave me will you?"

She smiles at the girl. "Of course not. I promise."

The human calls out again, "Now! On your knees!"

Tahiri hears the clicks of safeties being turned of as she watches Aseem'lya scampers out from behind her, dropping back into the cell she came from, scurrying back into the corner which Tahiri had first seen her. She turns back to the guards and hunkers down slightly, acting as if she is dropping to her knees.

With the Force, she grabs the remains of the transparisteel window and hurls it down the hallway, aiming towards the humans.

She quickly follows, and notices as a pair of guards, one Yuuzhan Vong and one human, jump to either side of the hallway, out of the way of the chunk of transparisteel. She is already running that way, heading towards the guards on the left. As she draws near, she touches the Force, and jumps, flipping once, she sticks her feet straight out, and lands squarely on the stomach of the human.

She can hear him retching inside his visor, and grins as she grabs his blaster rifle, dropping into a roll as the warrior slices his amphistaff where she had just been.

She stops and aims the rifle across the hall, firing off a quick shot – striking that warrior in the face. He flies backward, slamming against the wall, his countenance now a blackened smear.

Then an amphistaff slices in again, taking off the front half of her blaster rifle. She glances towards the other warrior, and hurls the useless gun at him, speeding it up slightly with the Force.

It strikes his shoulder, knocking his weapon wide for a moment – just enough time for Tahiri to fling herself backwards and into a standing fighting stance.

He brings his weapon back around and charges, the amphistaff held near his waistline as he uses it like a spear.

Tahiri touches the Force and jumps, flipping up over the warrior, and can feel a line of fire running down her back where the warrior's blade has nicked her. She lands and twists around, kicking her foot our, slamming it into the back of his right knee.

The force of the impact causes him to bend at the knees and she reaches up and pulls him down over her, slamming his head into the tiled floor. Grunting, she rolls the heavy warrior off of her and the Force screams in warning. She hops out of the way as a blaster bolt tears through the air where she had just been standing.

She spins and looks across the hall to see the other human lining up a second shot. Stretching out her hand, she sends a wave of telekinetic energy at the human, slamming him into the wall. He crumples to the ground, he head lolling at an odd angle.

A massive fist slams into her lower back, sending her stumbling forward and crying out in pain.

She turns around to see the final warrior bending over to retrieve his amphistaff.

Casting her hand behind her, she calls the blaster rifle to it from across the hall.

The muzzle slaps into her outstretched hand and she rears it back, her other hand joining the first as she rushes towards the warrior.

He straightens and she slams the stock into his head, right beneath his ear. He spins with the impact, dropping to the ground. Exhaling slowly, she flips the gun around, and puts the muzzle to his ear, quickly pulling the trigger.

She looks at the blaster rifle for a moment, and then returns to the cell where she had left Aseem'lya. Stopping in front of the broken window, she jerks her head towards the doorway. "Come on, I don't know how much more time we got – and we need to get everyone else out of their cells."

---------------------------------------

Chase skids to a stop and does not want to move. He can feel warmth trickling down his face and knows that he has a bloody nose, and the pain which radiates out from it, probably means that it is broken as well.

Finally he opens his eyes, to see the skeletal droid walking towards Noelani, its arm raised, pointing at her. He notices that she's settled herself on the edge of the railing.

And then she's gone.

"Noelani!" His scream is out of his mouth even before he realizes it, and he struggles to stand, his bruised body complaining as he does so.

He gets to his feet just in time to see the hunter droid going over the edge as well.

Cursing, he rushes towards the edge. Grabbing onto the railing, he leans over, trying to see her.

But all he sees is the deep darkness of the forest. He is not even able to make out the forest floor from this height.

"Noelani!"

He climbs upon the railing, fully intending on jumping down himself when a pair of strong, powerful, furry hands grab him and pull him back away from the edge.

He kicks his feet and struggles against the being holding him. "No! Let me go!"

The Wookiee tosses him aside, and for the third time in the past five minutes, Chase is skidding along the wooden planks which make up the platform.

Chase looks around, and sees three more Wookiees surrounding him – and recognizes one of them as part of the security detail who took him off of the Corellian's ship. He sighs, as they stand him back up and once more put him into stun cuffs.

---------------------------------------

Kyp drives his commandeered speeder wildly through the streets. Dodging pedestrians and other transports, ignoring the yells and shouts from those he swings past. A short distance from the main entrance to the BioTech complex he slows to a stop, watching the gate and the four guards standing around there. Navy armor. Full face helmets. Blaster rifles slung over one shoulder.

He frowns for a second, watching their actions.

Closing his eyes, he reaches out to Tahiri once again, feeling her closer, clearer, and decides she's definitely still inside the complex. Shrugging, he pushes down on the accelerator, causing the speeder to jump forward; he swings wide and aims towards the gate.

As he closes, he has to admire the guards who rather than bolting, drop into shooter's stances and lift their blaster rifles. When he's a dozen meters away, they open fire – Kyp tries to dodge the bolts, but there's too many.

Suddenly, the speeder lurches to the left, and Kyp has to struggle to keep it aimed towards the gate. He glances in the rear viewer and sees the smoke coming out from it. Then the speeder dips down, running a large furrow into the ground, slamming against the gate.

For a moment, Kyp wonders if the gate is going to come down, but then it collapses, slamming atop the speeder. He looks to the left and the right, noticing that the guards are recovering, and slowly advancing towards the speeder, the rifles aimed towards him.

Grinning, he ignites his saber and slices away the roof and the gate. Then he uses the Force to push himself up out of the whole. The guards track him, letting loose a hail of blaster fire. The bolts that come to close, he bounce back towards the guards, but most he just ignores as he flips and lands within the complex.

He faces the four guards, and they fire.

His grin falters as he bounces the bolts back towards their senders, each of them striking home, burning a hole in chestplates or visors. He shuts down his lightsaber, and darkness claims the area. Startled, he looks up at the light that was shining above the gatehouse, wondering when it was hit during the fight. Giving an internal shrug, he shakes his head, and then dashes to the building,


	19. Chapter 19

Noelani's world is darkness. Unending, perfect darkness. There is neither pain nor pleasure, love nor hate, good nor evil. No worries or responsibilities. No concerns over who her birth parents are. No memories or awareness.

It is a comfort to no longer worry over such things.

A large part of her relishes the darkness, the void. The unyielding emptiness.

Yet if there is anything her short life has taught her it is that such comforts rarely last.

Existence once more intrudes into Noelani's awareness. At first it is subtle, the introduction of smells. Warm compost. Mildew. The heavy scent of water and life and death.

Next existence makes itself known in a much more tactile way, the subtle jab of a stick poking in her back, a network of dull aches and pains across her entire body.

Finally, everything that has happened slams into her like a bolting bantha. Tahiri's disappearance. Her capture. Chase rescuing her. Escaping the prison where they were held.

Groaning, she opens her eyes in the deep gloom of the forest floor, her hand still tightly clasped around the metal pipe. A comfortable warmth seems to seep from the very metal of the device. She lifts it up and looks at it closer, recognizing it finally as a lightsaber hilt. Frowning she rolls over, getting to her knees and pushes herself up, trying to figure out what a lightsaber was doing stuck in a tree branch on Kashyyk.

She looks around the deep forest, nearly as dark as night on Ossus. A perpetual fog seems to blanket everything, muting even the sounds of the animals she can sense through the Force. Surrounding her are the various branches and vines which slowed her down enough so that she survived her fall through the trees. She shakes her head, getting the leaves and small twigs out of her hair.

Looking down at the hilt in her hand, she presses the ignition button and with a snap-hiss an indigo-colored blade flashes into existence. Something nearby squawks at the sudden onslaught of sound and light, and the undergrowth rustles as it darts away.

She waves the blade around experimentally for a few minutes, getting the feeling of the weapon, a sense of its weight and construction.

Then she shuts off the weapon, and wonders just how she can get back to the Wookiee city in the treetops.

Looking up, all she sees are trees, and leaves and the occasional vine stretched between branches. For a moment, she almost gives into despair, but the warmth from the saber seems to keep her from doing so.

Frowning, she begins to slowly walk forward, hoping to find some means of escape from the depths of the forest.

She sees a flash of polished titanium and a dim red glow. Frowning, she steps towards the underbrush, wondering what manner of thing this could be – and lets out a yelp as the Hunter stands up, its eyes flashing to life, brightening.

She takes a couple steps backwards, looking around for a means of escape, or a weapon to defend herself.

"You have disobeyed a direct order to surrender, and as such have been reclassified as an escape risk. Surrender now or this unit will be authorized to use class-3 measures."

Suddenly remembering the lightsaber hilt grasped tightly in her hand, she snarls at the droid, "Shove it, you walking trashcan!"

The droid's eyes seem to take on an ominous tint as it raises its right hand, pointing the blaster attached there towards Noelani.

She stretches out with the Force, feeling the microcurrents of energy collecting in the droid's blaster, readying the tibanna gas to be transformed into a blaster bolt.

Everything pushes her to move her saber up and level the blade with her heart. She does, and a second later the discharge of the blaster booms on the forest floor. Noelani can feel the pressure of the bolt striking her saber, and watches in amazement as it careens off on a wild tangent.

She twists her saber up and over so that the blade is leveled above her right shoulder just as another bolt strikes it.

She jumps forward, her saber slicing in, scratching a long furrow down the droid's chest, even as the gun-arm tracks her movements. She lands and immediately pushes herself up and backwards into a flip, a blaster bolt landing in the ground where she had just been.

She looks at the droid, and notices that metal is filling in the deep furrow which she had just cut.

In outrage she yells out, "Hey no fair! You're not supposed to do that."

The droid doesn't respond, just merely sends another blaster bolt towards her. To her amazement, her blade is there once more, but she can feel the muscles in her arms quivering from the exertion of deflecting the blasts and her half-healed broken arm has switched from a dull ache to a sharp, biting pain.

And for the first time since landing on Kashyyk, Noelani begins to despair.

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Waroo sniffs the air as Pollitichuk settles into the seat across from him. He sets a tumbler of bloodwine in front of Waroo and one in front of himself. In his other paw is a glass of some generic whiskey for Rand.

[So, why does the son of the mighty Chewbacca now speak for the Corellians?]

Waroo bares his fangs, and replies, [Do not attempt to dishonor or mock me. The reason I speak for the Corellians is because the Honorable Han Solo believes in their cause. That is reason enough for me.]

Pollitichuk chuffs with laughter. [Good, I had hoped that your spirit had not been broken by too many years away from the Forest.]

[Tell me why you have brought us here.]

[Because I too believe that it would be in our best interest to side with the Corellians. If we can convince Jowdrrl to accept that, then we can take it to the Council of Elders.]

Waroo takes a draught of his bloodwine, glancing at the human sitting to his left. He knows that the human can understand Shryiiwook, and for a moment wonders why he has not spoken up or offered his opinions.

[How do you propose we convince Jowdrrl?]

Pollitichuk leans forward, lowering his voice to a bare whisper, [She will either listen to reason, or we shall remove her from her office.]

Waroo can feel his eyes widen as he leans back in his seat, his mind racing as he considers the implications of Pollitichuk's thinking.

---------------------------------------

Tahiri creeps forward, her commandeered blaster rifle held loosely in her hands as she peers around the corner, hoping to not run into any more of the guards. She glances behind her, looking at the two dozen children ranging from eight standard years to a few years older than her own apprentice, and representing a multitude of species, everything from human to Twi'lek to Zelosian.

She closes her eyes, centering herself, dispelling the hate and anger at the type of people who would torture innocents such as this.

Then she reaches out to her apprentice, trying to find her in the Force. Feeling how far away she is from her. Tahiri frowns at that, for a moment she wonders why Noelani feels so small through their training bond. Then she realizes the reason. There are interstellar distances separating the two of them.

She feels a niggle in the Force, and spins around, raising her rifle just as a trio of guards come jogging around the corner. Before they can bring their own rifles to bear, she has pulled the trigger twice, shifting the gun slightly each time.

The bolts strike true, burning a hole in the chest of two of the guards. The third manages to get his rifle up and fires a shot.

She ducks to the side as the bolt flies harmlessly past her head, and fires her rifle again without aiming. Her bolt strikes the guard in the shoulder, spinning him around and dropping him to the ground.

She straightens and notices a couple of the older kids arming themselves. For a second she almost tells them to not too, but then shrugs her shoulders, and turns away, once more looking around the corner.

Seeing no one there, she goes forward, relying on the Force to guide her, hoping that it is leading her towards an exit.

What she finds instead is a blast door that will not open. Cursing she slams the butt of her rifle against the door, and turns around in a circle, looking for another direction to travel.

Then she catches the scent of molten metal, and spins around to look at the blast door. There in the middle of the door, the metal has begun to glow orange.

She takes a step back, watching as the door melts and stretches out with the Force, feeling Kyp on the far side.

Before long, there's a large hole in the door, and Tahiri darts through, ignoring the slight burn she gets from the still hot metal.

She grins at Kyp. "'Bout time you showed up Durron."

"It's nice to see you too, Tahiri. Want to tell me who your friends are?"

Tahiri glances at the group of kids who have slowly came through the blast door. "They're what BioTech is doing here."

Kyp looks at her, the confusion evident on his face.

She cocks an eyebrow at him. "Do you want to talk about it now, or discuss it in Council where it's more appropriate?"

Kyp coughs slightly. "Probably Council."

"Good, now get on your comlink and get us some reinforcements from the Defense Fleet and close down the spaceport while you're at it."

Kyp gives her a look, as if he's about to argue with her, but then pulls out his comlink and begins quietly speaking into it. While he does that, she turns in a slow circle, looking around the corridor, wondering where the next set of guards are going to come from.

---------------------------------------

Cere stares at the holocam monitors, switching her attention between two in particular. One shows the blonde Jedi, Tahiri Veila escaping from the holding pens, followed closely by the two dozen of the most promising specimens. The other monitor shows a middle-aged man – a Jedi – as he slices his way through their security with an utter abandon and ease.

She tightens her lips, suddenly afraid of what is going to happen to her. Sighing, she turns away from the bank of monitors and sits down at her desk. She pulls up the command system for the compounds central computer – and quickly begins typing away at her keyboard.

The command flashes on the screen before her, asking if she is certain she wishes to format the central core.

Her hand hovers over the key to accept the command, as she wonders if there is some way that she can trade the knowledge found in the core for a lighter sentence.

And Cere has no doubt that once the Jedi are through with her that she will be sent to some penal colony out on the Outer Rim. And that that is probably a best case scenario.

For the first time since taking this position, she wonders how she managed to allow Kar Illam talk her into doing what she does here. She knew it was against the Alliance's Ethics rulings. Yet to be honest with herself, the thought of the cutting edge research appealed to her. And Illam played to her vanity.

She shifts her hand over away from the accept key, and quickly jabs the key to cancel the command. She grins, knowing that there is enough incriminating evidence in the central core to indict everyone in BioTech's upper management. She starts to work on an encryption algorithm – something that should allow her to barter this information for some type of lighter sentence.


	20. Chapter 20

Noelani looks around the clearing, trying to find some escape from the hunter droid and the stream of blaster bolts it continually sends her way. Her arms have begun to quiver and she is growing weary of the constant twisting and turning needed to keep the blaster bolts from connecting.

Then she feels a coldness seeping into the Force.

An ague runs through her body, and she gives herself a brief second to glance around again. Trying to discern the sense of uneasiness and fear which clings to her.

She uses the Force to fling herself up and backwards, trying to bat the blasters back towards the Hunter – and failing miserably at it. She lands and then dives to the side as another blaster strikes where she had just been standing, showering her with clods of dirt and burnt leaves.

Then the droid gives out an ear-shattering electronic scream, and Noelani looks that way, her heart clutching at her throat.

A massive creature – nearly six meters tall, with large tusks and two powerful arms ending in four-fingered hands, with each finger sporting a sharpened claw. The thing holds one of the hunter's arms in each of its hands, and Noelani can see the pressure the creature is exerting on the droid.

With an explosion of sparks and sound the arms come free from the torso, and the Hunter collapses into a pile.

The wide ridge brow twists, with the short eyestalks focusing on Noelani – and she feels her fear and despair jump as the thing locks gazes with her. She stares back at the thing, and amid her fear, she realizes how much it resembles a rancor, except for the tusks and the spines extending from the back. She wonders what it is going to do next. Some part of her thinks she has seen this creature before.

She is hoping that it is not going to want to eat her.

Then she remembers where she had seen it. It had been during a discussion of the Sith Wars, and some of the Dark Side creatures which they released on the galaxy four thousand years ago. The terentatek. Master Tionne had called them "Jedi Killers" and noted that they seemed to reappear whenever the galaxy tips towards the Dark.

It roars at Noelani, and takes a single step forward – sniffing at the air.

Noelani swallows hard and raises her saber, letting its soft hum calm her, allowing its clean light to dispel her fears and anxieties. She calls on the Force and lets it refresh her sore muscles and drive the last of her fear and despair away.

Then the creature attacks. Noelani lifts her saber, and slices at the terentatek, frowning as the blade seems to bounce off of the creature's claws. She dives to the side, narrowly missing being raked by the other paw.

She darts forward, sliding her blade forward towards the monster's unguarded flank. A dark score follows where her blade had sliced through the creature's tough hide. The creature roars and a massive fist strikes her – flinging her backwards towards the undergrowth.

She lands, sliding to a stop, and slowly stands. As she gains her feet, the thing's paw wraps around her, gripping her. It yanks her up off of her feet, and she lets out a short yelp of surprise mingled with pain as the tips of the claws begin to dig into her skin.

She struggles managing to work one arm free, but the creature squeezes tighter.

Noelani looks at the beast, her heart hammering in her chest – as despair and hopelessness wash through her. The saber in the hand of her still trapped arm hangs uselessly by her side as she is unable to twist enough to use the blade against the paw holding her.

She closes her eyes and exhales, feeling that little nugget of rage – almost a coiled snake in the pit of her stomach – expand and grow. She trembles – angry at the unfairness of the situation. Despairing and at a loss for how to proceed.

The creature lifts her closer towards its mouth, the massive maw opening wide, revealing rows of carnivorous teeth in addition to the two giant tusks. Its fetid breath washes over her, and she nearly gags from the stench of decaying flesh.

Then her eyes pop open. She does not want to die. The red tide of her anger washes over her and she glares at the creature. She knows there must be some way to stop the beast; that it must have some weakness she can exploit.

Closing her eyes, she probes the creature with the Force, feeling its heart pumping, the simple chemical and mechanical processes of respiration. She feels its life.

She tries to push into its mind with the Force – tries to tell her that she's not prey. Yet her mental probes run afoul of massive mental shields like those she finds on fully trained Jedi.

Next she tries to pinch off its airway, and she growls in anger as her telekinesis has no effect on the beast. She had better luck with the Force affecting the Yuuzhan Vong.

She runs through these options in a heart beat. One second to the next, and opening her eyes again she finds herself about to be bit into.

"No!"

Her scream rings out in hate and anger even as she flails her arm out towards the descending teeth. The memory of the lightning which the Yuuzhan Vong, Ulya tried to electrify her with flashes through her mind. Electrical fire arches from her outstretched palm slamming into the roof of the terentatek's mouth.

The creature and Noelani release matching screams of pain. The beast drops her, and she falls to her knee, dropping the saber and holding onto the wrist of one hand with the other. A burned circle rests there in the middle of her palm, a twist of oily smoke rising from it along with the stench of charred flesh.

She lifts her head, and through tear-filled eyes sees the beast pressing its mouth into the dirt, scrunching itself along while its pain echoes through the Force.

Exhaling, Noelani calls her saber back to her hand, and jumps, using the Force to propel her higher and guide her landing so that she drops neatly onto the beast's neck. Once more igniting her blade, she quickly shoves it into slight curve where head meets neck. The saber slices through the skin and she nearly decapitates the creature with one smooth slice.

It collapses into the dirt unmoving and Noelani collapses on top of it - worn out by both the battle and her rage. Closing her eyes once again, unconsciousness quickly claims her.

---------------------------------------

Chase stares at the Wookiees surrounding him; they cradle their bowcasters in their arms. The black metal an odd offset to the ginger-haired aliens. He looks down at the stun cuffs wrapped around his wrists and ankles and sighs once again.

He looks to who he thinks is the Wookiee in charge of the guards. "Please, send someone to get Noelani. She could be hurt or dying down there."

The Wookiee growls something, and a protocol droid in the corner speaks up. "Master Ralthal says that you must remain here. They have dispatched a warrior to search for your accomplice."

Chase sighs, feeling a weight being lifted off his shoulders.

"Thank you."

After another series of growls, the protocol droid again speaks. "We did not do this for you, but rather to retrieve the prisoner which the Galactic Alliance Guard is expecting. They will be here in a few days."

Chase nods his head, and then looks at the wall – wondering when this nightmare will finally be over.

---------------------------------------

Tahiri slides into the console, and begins typing in a few commands. Within a few moments she has pulled up a map of the BioTech complex on the display. With another few key presses, an icon begins blinking and she traces the best way to get there from where she is currently located.

Kyp leans in over her shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going after the person in charge. She's the one who did this to these kids." She turns around in her chair forcing Kyp to step back away from her. "Do you happen to have an extra lightsaber?"

"Sorry, no."

Tahiri sighs and stands up. "That's all right. I have a blaster rifle. You want to get these kids out of here?"

She watches as Kyp looks over the children standing against the wall of the hallway, noticing a frown flickering on his face. "I'd rather go with you – or have us both get these kids somewhere safe. We can get the person in charge later you know?"

Tahiri grits her teeth, thinking for a moment. "No. She needs to be stopped now. Besides I'm hoping that she knows where Noelani is."

She notices that Kyp's mouth drops open slightly. "You don't know where your apprentice is? Luke's not going to like that."

Tahiri snarls and turns on him. "Luke's not here – and I don't much care if he likes it or not. I got drugged and dumped into this place naked and alone while Noelani was safe in our room. All I know now is that she is off planet somewhere."

Kyp holds his arms up in a conciliatory gesture. "Hey, I'm just saying that Luke's not going to be happy. You know he questioned if you should keep an apprentice after your last mission."

Tahiri can feel her anger deflating and turns away. "I know. I'm sorry I snapped at you like that. I am worried about her – I know she's alive but that's about all I can feel."

Then before Kyp can say anything else, she begins jogging down the hall, heading towards the part of the building where the manager's offices are.

Kyp steps forward, and calls out, "Tahiri! Wait!"

Tahiri pauses and turns to look at him.

"May the Force be with you."

She nods her head and turns away once more, jogging deeper into the complex. She follows what she remembers from the display, taking turns and corridors until she finds herself standing outside of an office. The name "Cere Hollista" is stenciled in black aurebesh lettering to the side of the door.

She pushes open the door and steps into a dimly lit office, and sees the woman who was watching her when she first woke up in this place. And there on the desk is her lightsaber.

Tahiri holds out her hand, the weapon jumps from the desk and slaps into her palm and she feels herself grinning. She exhales and schools her features.

"Cere Hollista, by order of the Galactic Alliance you are under arrest."

"I know, Jedi. You've already ruined my research. I'm willing to surrender – but I want a deal. I'll provide all the data of BioTech's operations here in exchange for a commuted sentence."

Tahiri growls slightly in the back of her throat. She feels sickened by Cere's request, considers it an affront to justice – even as she knows it is probably a deal that the Justice Department will accept.

"That's something between you and others. I'm just here to arrest you and to find out what happened to my apprentice."

Cere leans forward. "Before I tell you about your apprentice, I want your word as a Jedi that I'll get the deal."

Tahiri's eyes narrow and she ignites her saber, allowing the blade's end to come to a rest centimeters from Cere's nose. "I'm not talking about the deal and have nothing to do with that. You'll tell me about my apprentice or else I'll rip the knowledge from your head by force, leaving you an empty shell of a human being. Or maybe I'll just torture you until you're willing to tell me what I want. You know about my shaping - that taught me a lot about torture."

She watches the older woman swallow hard, her eyes locked on the blue tip of the blade. "We…uhm…we had captured her and she was in transit to BioTech to be included in our group of specimens. But as she arrived one of our escaped subjects stole the truck she was in and left the compound."

"And?" Tahiri allows the blade's edge to drift slightly closer to Cere's nose.

"And that's all we know. We had been scouring the city looking for them but haven't seen them in the past few days."

Tahiri sighs as she shuts down her saber, and makes a quick, short hand gesture. "Come on."


	21. Chapter 21

Noelani can feel herself being lifted up, a sense of flying, and she pulls the lightsaber hilt in towards her chest, curling her body around it. Yet even with that sense of weightlessness, of being lofted through the air, she cannot force herself to open her eyes. There is welcome respite in the void. It is a place – a state of being – where she doesn't have to think about killing the terentatek.

It is a place where she doesn't have to consider the fact that she _enjoyed_ killing the terentatek.

Then there is a feeling of movement, a bouncing, as if she is once more a mere babe being carried around by her mother. Instantly the open vistas of the desert, of endless sand, and melancholy songs flicker through the void. Memories of another life.

Then she is being gently set down onto something hard and unyielding, and she can hear the roar of repulsors as they activate. For good or for ill, someone has found her.

She opens her eyes, wincing slightly at the bright light of the cargo area where they have placed her. Uncurling herself she stretches and notices that she still has the saber hilt grasped tightly in her hand. Giving a guilty glance towards the cab and the two Wookiees sitting within it, she tucks the hilt into one of her pockets. She unsteadily climbs to her feet and stumbles over to the side of what is effectively her cage and looks out the barred window, watching the tree limbs flicker past as they steadily climb. She frowns, wondering just how it was she managed to survive such a fall.

The words of her Master flicker through her mind. _With the Force, all things are possible_.

The wooden tree houses and platforms which make up the Wookiee city finally start appearing. Large sprawling complexes built into the trees themselves with broad wooden avenues stretched out from tree to tree.

Noelani had missed this sight during her first trip to the detention center and on her subsequent escape she had been too busy to look around and just admire the beauty of the Wookiee's handiwork.

The transport she is in twists around the cables and bridges, and in the distance Noelani can make out the detention center she escaped from earlier. For a moment, she feels chagrin flush through her at the damage to the building which she wrought – but then remembers her ire at the fact that they would not let her contact the Jedi Temple.

To her surprise, they bank away from that detention center, heading towards another, larger complex. As usual a massive tree is the centerpiece of the building, with windows and columns wrapping around the massive trunk. Exterior stairs provide external access to the multiple levels. Off to the side is a landing platform, and if she had to guess she would assume it was nothing more than a limb the Wookiees had cut off to create a flat horizontal surface. Noelani can make out a dozen speeders parked on it. And then they're touching down, landing in a cordoned off section of the platform a short distance from the other speeders.

A few moments later the door at the rear of the holding pen opens, the two Wookiees standing there with their bowcasters pointed towards her. One makes a quick gesture with his weapon – a universal symbol to come out, and Noelani does so. As soon as she steps off the transport that Wookiee puts stun cuffs around her wrists and ankles.

"Hey, I'm just a kid. Do you have to shackle me like this?"

To her surprise, when the Wookiee speaks she can understand his growls and barks. She knows a little bit of Shyriwook from a few days spent training with her Master's friend Lowbacca, but she had not thought it was enough to understand the language – and she had a hard time understanding the Wookiees earlier. [You have already escaped from our detention center. We do not wish for you to be given the chance to escape again. Now you will come with us.]

The two Wookiees take up positions on either side of her and together they begin walking towards the building at the edge of the landing platform.

She looks around, wanting to keep silent, to not talk, but finally the words come bubbling out of her. "So, why can I understand you when I can't understand other Wookiees? And is this landing pad really just a limb that you cut off? Where are we going anyways? And can I finally call the Jedi Temple? My Master is getting very worried about me."

The second Wookiee's harsh bark cuts into her speech, and she swallows quickly. She looks at the first one, and notices amusement shining in his eyes. Then she sees Rand, the Corellian whose ship she had snuck on board to get to Kashyyk. He was following behind two Wookiees, walking with purpose – long, confident strides. In takes a second, but she recognizes one of those Wookiees as Rand's passenger.

She can feel a frown twisting her features. Something about the scenario sends warning bells flaring through her head – a sense of uneasiness straining against her stomach.

"Uhm…There's something wrong about those guys over there. The human and the two Wookiees."

The second Wookiee gently cuffs her upside her head, and barks at her again – a command she assumes means to stop talking.

Yet the trio still pulls at her senses in the Force. The mystical energy field is telling her that something is wrong. She gives a quick glance at her two guards and allows a mischievous grin to tilt one side of her face. Reaching out with the Force, she quickly disables the stun cuffs, popping open the mechanisms which kept her ankles and wrists bound to one another.

As soon as they fall away, she turns and sees the trio entering the ornate building, what Noelani assumes is a governmental complex. Pulling the Force to her again, she runs to that building, becoming a slight blur as she does so.

She almost laughs at the surprised growls that come from her guards as they realize that she had effectively disappeared from between them.

Slipping into the building which the trio had entered, Noelani spies them turning down a corridor. With a burst of Force speed she runs to the corridor, sliding to a stop at the corner. She peeks around the corner and sees them enter one of the rooms.

She creeps forward, and places her ear on the door, using the Force to enhance her hearing.

All she receives are the growls and barks of Shryiwook.

But the Force pools animosity.

A furry paw slaps down on her shoulder, and she gives a yip of surprise, twisting away from the grip. Behind her are her two guards – neither of who look overly happy with her.

Making a decision, she pulls out her saber and slices away the locking mechanism of the door and slams it open, darting in – the two Wookiees quickly following her.

She pulls up short as she finds Rand pointing a blaster at her, and the two Wookiees pointing their bowcasters at a third Wookiee who is standing behind a desk.

She can feel the tension, a palatable thing hanging in the air of the room.

She slowly brings her saber up, holding it in line with Rand's blaster.

Her voice is hesitant. "What's happening, Rand?"

The Corellian shrugs. "Wookiee politics. What's with the glowstick?"

"Uhm. You're kind of pointing a blaster at me."

In the background she can hear the Wookiees all barking at one another. The tension begins to grow, becoming a tidal wave of pressure within the Force, one that tries to drown her.

She drags her eyes away from Rand, glancing at Waroo and then at the other two Wookiees.

Exhaling slowly, she closes her eyes and stretches out with the Force. Feeling the aggression and anger and the general darkening of those around her. She allows her saber to drop lower, and pulls her hand back.

Rand speaks up, a nervousness creeping into his voice. "What are you doing?"

She does not reply. Just keeps her eyes closed and slings the saber away from her. Allowing her Force senses to take over - relying on them to judge who her target should be. Tingles of nervous energy dart up her spine and she dives to the side – her eyes still tightly squeezed shut. The flash of a blaster bolt warms her skin and in the Force she can see her blade bobbing and weaving as it flies to the far side of the room and strikes home at the center of the tension, anger and betrayal in the room.

She sticks her hand out and recalls her saber, just as a blaster bolt strikes her in the shoulder. The force of the impact spins her around, dumping her to the floor. From behind her, she can feel the Wookiee's shock at her actions – their amazement and with a burst of silent frustration she realizes that they still had not believed that she was a Jedi apprentice.

She feels the warm, smooth handle of the saber hilt slap into her palm and opens her eyes, taking a quick look around. One of the Wookiees lay on the floor with a smoking hole in his chest and her guards have their bowcasters pointed at Waroo and Rand. The last Wookiee is growling into a comlink.

Feeling the urgency draining from the Force, she places her head against the ground, and allows herself to go to sleep.

---------------------------------------

Tahiri follows Cere out of the BioTech complex to find Kyp and a number of planetary security officers standing around out front, herding scientists into prison transports. Grouped together near a school transport are the children she had rescued.

She gives Cere a hard shove to the security forces as Kyp steps up to her, holding his comlink out towards her. "Hey Tahiri, it's the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. They say they got something important to tell you."

Tahiri quickly grabs the device from him and speaks into its microphone, "This is Jedi Veila."

The voice that issues from the device is wavering and filled with static. "We were just contacted by the authorities on Kashyyk. Apparently they found your apprentice and an unidentified male hiding on an incoming transport."

Tahiri looks at Kyp for a second, a grin splitting her face. "Thanks!"

Spinning quickly on her heel, she turns off and then tosses the comlink back to Kyp. "Can you finish cleaning up this mess? I've got to go to Kashyyk and pick up Noelani. Apparently she's taken up being a stowaway."

Kyp laughs. "Well from what I know of some of your friends that probably shouldn't be that much of a surprise."

Tahiri shoots him a hurt look. "Hey, Uldir isn't that bad of a guy. He only stowed away a couple of times anyways."

"Go get your apprentice. I expect you on Coruscant in a couple days to give the Council a full briefing."

She nods her head once again, flashing him another smile and then turning away from him, she asks one of the security officers for a quick ride to the space port. Within a half an hour is sitting behind the controls of the _Stolen Star_ and lifting off of the surface of Ambria, heading towards deep space.

---------------------------------------

Chase is leaning up against the wall of his cell. He feels the biting cold of the metal behind his back even through his jacket and tunic. He closes his eyes, and allows himself to drift off to sleep.

"Chase."

He frowns and turns his head slightly squinting his eyes shut tighter, the voice almost sounds like Noelani's. Light. Musical. Happy.

"Chase!"

He continues to ignore the sound of the voice. And then he hears the sound of the lock being disengaged from the door, tumblers rotating out of alignment with a heavy clank. He opens his eyes and sees Noelani stepping into his cell. Her hair is disarrayed, her clothes filthy and torn and a burn mark evident on her shoulder.

Yet her grin for him is brilliant, a light which makes his heart beat faster. He bounces up and rushes to her, throwing his arms around her, lifting her off her feet and swinging her around.

She giggles as he puts her down, and he slides a hand down the side of her head. "I was worried about you."

She tilts her head to the side slightly, leaning into his palm, a lop-sided grin drifting onto her mouth. "I told you I was a Jedi."


	22. Chapter 22

The room's lights are dimmed; the soft sounds of medical monitors are a steady metronome in the background. The scent of salt water hangs on the air. Tahiri Veila sits on the edge of an uncomfortable hospital chair; her elbows resting on her knees, fingers laced together holding her chin atop them. She watches her young apprentice, who is sleeping on the bed which is the centerpiece of the room. The white sheet is pulled up to her waist, the light blue hospital gown tied over one shoulder, the other side left untied and pulled away from the pink of new flesh where she had been shot by a blaster.

The door opens with a soft sigh, and Tahiri lifts her gaze away from Noelani to focus on the boy stepping into the room. She watches as he takes a moment to just stare at her apprentice. She can see the concern flashing in his eyes.

He takes a step into the room, and seems to realize that he's not alone with Noelani. He turns to face Tahiri, and gives her a quick nod of the head.

"I'm sorry. I thought she'd be alone."

He starts to back out of the door, and she beckons him closer with her hand. She watches as he hesitates, and she can almost see the decision making process on his face. Finally, he decides and comes closer.

She lets him stand there in silence for a few moments, as she watches her apprentice sleep.

"I…" She pauses as she looks up at the young kid. "I just wanted to thank you for what you did for Noelani on Ambria."

Chase looks down at his feet, shuffling his feet slightly. "It was nothing."

Tahiri shakes her head saying, "No. It was something. A lot of people would have left her, or just let her die. From what I understand you actually pestered the Wookiees until they told you that they sent someone to hunt for her."

"Like I said, it was nothing."

She feels a gentle summons in the base of her mind, and quickly stands. "I've got to go speak with the Council; I'd appreciate it if you would sit with her."

She notices that he has once more taken to staring at her apprentice, and gives him a small smile before leaving the room. It takes her eyes a second to adjust to the bright glare from the overhead fluorescents of the main corridor of the hospital ward. She pauses at Cilghal's office, sticking her head in and frowns as she sees that it is empty.

Her brow knits tight as something flickers through her consciousness. An unsettling feeling which she cannot quite shake and which she is not certain where it comes from. She takes a second to trace it, and ends up with a mental image of Noelani sleeping in the hospital bed.

Blaming the feeling on anxiety over Noelani, she banishes it to the back of her mind and continues on her way to the Council Chambers.

She stops before the ornate doors, wondering just how many times she will be called before the Council before they grow tired of asking her questions about this last mission. Sighing, she pushes open the ornate doors and steps into the room. She glances around at the Council members present. Kyp Durron in the seat closest to her, his long hair tied tight in a pony tail. Cilghal, dressed in her usual blue robes. Tionne smiles at her, the elder woman's mother-of-pearl eyes shine with happiness at seeing Tahiri. Mara Jade Skywalker, who for whatever reason refuses to meet her gaze.

Finally, she focuses on Master Skywalker. The Grand Master of the Jedi. She notices that he appears older, more worn then the last time she had seen him, and that he is holding his arm close to his chest. Tahiri can smell the slight scent of bacta and wonders if something happened to him during his last mission.

She bows to the Council. "Knight Veila, reporting masters."

Luke looks quickly between the other masters, and then focuses on her. For a second, his eyes remind her so much of Anakin's that it hurts. But then he speaks, and that phantom pain is flash burned away.

"The Council has heard your testimony, and cannot find any fault with your actions."

Tahiri gives a short incline of her head. "Thank you, masters."

Luke accepts the acknowledgement with the briefest of nods before continuing. "In a week or two, we will have drawn up your next assignment, and following that you and your apprentice will be rotated out to Ossus to give you both a small break from missions. Dismissed."

Tahiri bows again, and flashes a quick smile for Tionne. As she goes to leave her eyes fall once more on Mara Jade, and for a brief second she believes that she can see sorrow in the vibrant green eyes. Then the second is gone, and Mara once more adverts her eyes, refusing to look at her.

Giving herself an internal shrug, she completes her turn and leaves the Council chambers.

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Chase watches Tahiri leave the room. He feels distinctly uncomfortable around all these Jedi, with Tahiri giving him the most problems. Every time that he sees her, it seems like he's looking at an older version of Noelani. Clearing his thoughts, he turns back to the young blonde, watching her as she sleeps.

He steps close to her bedside, frowning down at her. Without thinking he leans down and presses his lips to hers. He pulls back slightly, blinking a couple of times as he looks at her face – still peaceful in sleep.

Sighing to himself, he takes the seat that her master had just vacated, and leans back in it, allowing himself to doze.

A small cough startles him and he bolts awake and into a sitting position to find Noelani sitting up in the bed, watching him with a wry grin and amusement flashing in her blue eyes. He stands up, grinning at her.

"Hey, glad to see that you're feeling better."

She shrugs her shoulders, and looks down and Chase notices a slight reddening to her cheeks. "It was nothing that a little bacta couldn't fix."

Chase looks away, feeling slightly uncomfortable, wondering why he came up here to talk to her like this. "I'm glad anyways."

She smiles for him again and he reaches out to take her hand in his.

"I'm leaving though."

Surprise registers in her face, a widening of the eyes, and a slight parting of the lips.

"Wha… Where? Where are you going?"

He shakes his head. "I don't know. But it's too…too much like BioTech here. Everyone with their perfect little rooms, all dressed almost exactly alike. But this is Coruscant – the best planet in the galaxy. I'll go down-level and do something."

"Oh." Her eyes fall away from his face, looking down at the sheet which covers her legs.

He gives her hand a gentle squeeze, and she looks up at him again. "Come away with me."

Noelani bites at her lower lip and gives a small, almost imperceptible shake of the head. "I…I can't. I'm training to be a Jedi."

He lets go of her hand, and turns, beginning to walk away. Pausing at the end of the bed, he looks down at the floor. "I'll miss you."

"You don't have to go."

He looks back over his shoulder at her, seeing the unshed tears lining her eyes. Noting how they sparkle in the dim light of the room. "Yes, I do. I don't fit in here. I don't belong. And that has nothing to do with what BioTech did to me."

Before she can respond, he leaves the room without looking back.

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Noelani is sitting on the couch in the main room of the quarters which she shares with Tahiri. Her feet are tucked up under her, and her hair is still damp from the shower she had just taken. In her hand is the lightsaber that she had found on Kashyyk, a silver base, with a black ribbing handgrip beneath the emitter. Lower still is the power button and vertical ridges – also a hard plastic. There is a warmth to the weapon which calls to her. Which calms her and fills her with peace and joy.

She looks down at the weapon, and presses the activator, and with a snap-hiss the indigo blade flashes into existence. A blue so deep and dark that it is closer to being purple.

She hears the door open, and her Master's bare feet padding softly into the room.

Then a sharp, hissing intake of breath and Noelani shuts down the weapon turning towards Tahiri.

"Master?"

Tahiri shakes her head. "I'm sorry, Noelani. I knew you had found yourself a lightsaber on Kashyyk – but I didn't expect it to be that one. I guess, I assumed.... when I was eight or nine there was an attack on Kashyyk by a group of Dark Jedi. I guess I just assumed that you had found one of their old blades."

Noelani looks from her master to the hilt in her hand and then back to Tahiri. "Did I do something wrong?"

Tahiri shakes her head. "No. It's just that is… was. That was Anakin's blade."

"Oh. I'm sorry." She gets up and walks to Tahiri, holding the weapon out towards her. "Here, do you want it?"

She watches her mentor chew on her lower lip for a second, her hand hesitatingly reaching out for the saber. Tahiri eyes take on a faraway glaze as she touches the weapon and Noelani can feel a twinge in the Force coming from the living crystal which is at the core of the lightsaber.

Tahiri snatches her hand back, quickly brushing away a tear. "It was attuned to him."

"Pardon?"

"The lambent. He used a Yuuzhan Vong lambent as his focusing crystal. It was attuned to him, and still carries a part of him within it." Tahiri's eyes come back into sharp focus. "Could you put it on the shelf by the holo of him, please?"

Noelani nods her head. "Sure."

She walks over to the shelves and places the weapon up there, taking a second to glance at the picture of its former owner. Then she turns back to her master, noting that Tahiri had closed her eyes and appeared to be doing a simple breathing exercise.

Noelani waits, and a few minutes later, Tahiri reopens her eyes. "Have you gathered the items you'll need to build a lightsaber?"

"Yes."

"Good. Take them and the instructions into the meditation room and assemble your blade. Take as long as you need, don't be frightened of any visions. Trust yourself and the Force."

Noelani smiles at her. "Yes, Master."

With that said she rushes to her room and gathers the pieces from her workstation and then goes into the meditation room. She sits herself down in the middle of the room, spreading the things she will need to make her lightsaber around her.

She closes her eyes, picks up the first piece and slowly exhales.

She inhales, tasting the dank, mildewy air of the forest floor.

Opening her eyes, she finds that she is once more on Kashyyk. For a second she almost panics, wondering if everything that happened to her had been some type of fever dream from a concussion. Then she remembers that she could have visions while building her weapon.

Then she remembers that she had this dream already.

Once her panic is back under control, she stands up and begins walking down the path before her. A thin, cold drizzle begins, dripping in a slow pattern from the leaves and branches overhead.

She walks for a while, and finally a new scent assails her nose, something different than the smell of wet forest. Smoke. A fire. She looks around, trying to find where the smell is coming from and darts along beside the fallen trunk of one of the giant trees. She rounds the corner and finds a small cottage built into the trunk. Paneless windows glow with the cheery warmth of the fire, and Noelani smiles, recognizing another item from her previous dream.

She raps on the simple wooden door and can hear shuffling sounds coming from within.

The door opens to reveal a boy a few years older than herself. Piercing blue eyes, tussled brown hair and a rakish smile. She recognizes him. She had just been looking at his picture before entering the meditation room. And she wonders why she's having a vision about her Master's dead boyfriend.

"Hello, Noelani. It is great to see you again. I have something for you."

Noelani glances up at the sky-the drizzle has started to come down harder, and more and more drops are making it through the canopy above. She glances once more into the brightly lit hut, "Can we go inside?"

"No. You're not allowed in just yet. Wait here."

She shivers, and imagines that she must look quite a sight with her hair hanging limp, plastered to her face and back by the rain. She rubs her shoulders, trying to warm them.

The boy returns to the doorway and holds out a shaft of metal with black and steel ribbing which runs the half not currently covered by the boy's hand. He pushes it towards her.

"Here, take it."

She does, half expecting fire and pain to twist up her arm. She looks down at the weapon and notices that it is similar to the one which she had found on Kashyyk – that it holds to the same overall design pattern. Yet there are differences, as the weapon appears slimmer, more feminine.

Suddenly, a chill wind whips around her, and she shivers looking around the clearing. With a small chuff noise, the light and warmth coming from the small cottage blows out. The wisp of smoke, being ripped away and shattered.

She looks around for the boy, noticing that he no longer is anywhere around. A soft, slithering sound comes from the cottage. Sounding something like a snake. She takes a step back, a frown flickering onto her face.

"Hello?"

A voice from Noelani's nightmares comes from the darkened rooms. "Hello _Jeedai_."

Ulya Tu, the Yuuzhan Vong warrior who had held Noelani captive steps out, and thrusts a saber towards Noelani. "Here, take it. You will be my apprentice."

In a single smooth motion, Noelani screams and activates her blade. She lunges forward slicing away, down and through the warrior. Grinning with manic glee as her blade passes through Yuuzhan Vong flesh without a problem.

She looks down at the warrior's face, to find her own staring back at her.

She lets out another scream, and opens her eyes to find herself once more in the meditation room, scampering backwards in fear. She closes her eyes, and does a simple breathing exercise to gain control of her emotions.

She looks around the room. "It was just a dream. That's all. Just a dream."

Not really believing herself, she takes a step forward and picks up her completed lightsaber. She notes that it is the same one as from her dream and presses the ignition button to be greeted with a blade the same indigo color as Anakin's.

Shutting down the blade, she turns to find Tahiri standing in the doorway. Noelani holds the weapon out to her, and she plucks it from Noelani's hands. She turns it this way and that and then ignites it. Waving it through the air a few times, she shuts the weapon down and returns it to Noelani.

"It is well made. Congratulations."

Noelani looks down, wondering how much of her vision she should tell Tahiri. "Thank you Master. But…I don't remember actually building it."

Tahiri smiles mysteriously at her. "Some Jedi don't."

Noelani smiles for Tahiri, but in the back of her head, she can still hear Ulya Tu's words, "You will be my apprentice."

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Noelani walks beside her master, as they make their way towards the hanger where the _Stolen Star_ is. Rounding the corner, she slams into a boy about her age, causing both of them to fall backwards and onto their butts.

She yelps in surprise, and says "Hey, watch where you're going!"

Then she looks at him, noting the red hair, the smattering of freckles on his boyish features, and the blue eyes. She winces inwardly as she realizes that she just ran into Ben Skywalker.

He gives her a hesitant smile and then stands up, holding a hand out towards her. With a blush she accepts it and he pulls her to her feet, and gives her a lop-sided smile. "Hey, I'm Ben. I don't think I've met you."

She can feel herself blushing. "I'm Noelani Darklighter, Tahiri's apprentice. I've gotta go on a mission now."

To her surprise, she can feel a burst of disappointment coming from the Grand Master's son. "Oh. Okay then. Well, I guess I'll see you when you get back then. If you want, we can get something to eat or something…"

"That sounds great!" she says, smiling brightly for him. Turning away, she walks towards the hanger. She casts a quick glance over her shoulder to see him still standing there in the black armored jumpsuit he was wearing, just watching her, that lop-sided grin still plastered to his face. She gives him a quick wave, and he seems to realize that he was staring at her and waves back before turning away and going about his business.

Feeling happier than she has since the day Chase left two weeks ago, she glances around and then sprints the rest of the way to the hanger, suddenly wanting this mission to be over.


End file.
